Putin won't extend New Year's greetings to Biden, Macron & Scholz

The Kremlin said that US President Joe Biden, France's Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not be receiving New Year's greetings from Russian leader Vladimir Putin. As the world gears up to ring in the New Year, Putin sent congratulatory messages to the leaders of Kremlin-friendly countries including Turkey, Syria, Venezuela and China. However, he will not wish a happy New Year to the leaders of the United States, France and Germany, countries that have piled unprecedented sanctions on Moscow over Putin's assault on Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that they have currently no contact with them. And the president will not congratulate them given the unfriendly actions that they are taking on a continuous basis, he added.

In 2023, the last year before Russia’s 2024 presidential election, Putin plans to focus on affairs “which need to be completed with 100% efficiency,” said Peskov. Regarding the fall of a Ukrainian missile in Belarus, he said Russia finds the incident “extremely concerning,” adding that Moscow is in constant contact with Minsk.On the integration of four Ukrainian regions annexed this year, Peskov said the process is proceeding quickly.​​​​​​​