Putin Follows Affairs in Syria, Ukraine, US But Russia is Top Priority - Kremlin

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian president is closely following the situation in Syria, Ukraine, and the US because it is an integral part of his job as the head of state, but he is still primarily concerned with the well-being of his own country, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told newspaper Argumenty i Fakty in an interview released on Tuesday.

"The president is, first of all, concerned with what is going on in our own country. It has always been like this. But international issues, of course, are an integral part of his job. Syria requires Putin's constant attention as a commander-chief because our military is deployed there", Peskov said.

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The spokesman added that the Russian president was also closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and the United States because Russia's relations with the two countries remained strained.

Peskov also noted that the president's contacts with foreign partners had significantly intensified over the past few years, and there was now nothing extraordinary in having two or even three international phone conversations a week.