Good morning. In years gone by, a long-winded press conference from Vladimir Putin was as reliable a December phenomenon in Moscow as a Christmas tree in Red Square. But this year, Russia’s president broke with tradition.
“For the foreign audience, he can say everything he deems necessary, he’ll find an occasion,” political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya told Andrew Roth last week – with a visit to Minsk yesterday, where he raised fears that he will push Belarus to join a new ground offensive, a good example. “As to the domestic audience, he doesn’t see the point. Let his subordinates handle it.”
