Putin’s Annual News Conference Attracts Rising Number of Foreign Reporters

A larger number of foreign journalists than before will be present at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s end-of-year press conference, the president’s spokesman said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Putin is due to wrap up the outgoing year at a meeting with journalists at noon local time (09:00 GMT) in Moscow. He is expected to answer dozens of questions on politics, economy, and social issues.

"All the usual guests will be there. We will also have somewhat more foreigners, as well as people from regions and federal districts – the full palette," Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Rossiya-24 TV channel.

Peskov said some foreign journalists, who did not have a permanent accreditation in Russia, had come to the country specifically for this event.

A total of 1,392 journalists have been accredited for Putin’s annual meet-up with the press, up from last year’s 1,259. The precise number of foreigners in the press pool has not been revealed.