Putin to hold Security Council meeting on his birthday, Kremlin says
In short
President Vladimir Putin will hold an operational meeting with the permanent members of Russia's Security Council, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The meeting falls on October 7, which is Putin's 74th birthday and a day his spokesman said includes a series of international phone calls. Peskov said the Kremlin would publish a single consolidated statement on those calls within a couple of hours.
Why it matters
The Security Council meeting and the promised readout of Putin's international calls are the only substantive items the documents point to, so the significance beyond the calendar is not yet clear. Peskov's remark that some calls briefly raise substantive issues suggests the conversations are not purely ceremonial, but the documents give no detail on their content.
Key facts
- President Vladimir Putin will hold an operational meeting with the permanent members of Russia's Security Council, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- October 7 is Putin's 74th birthday [ 2 , 3 ]
- Peskov said Putin has a series of international telephone conversations scheduled for October 7 [ 3 ]
- The Kremlin will publish a single consolidated statement covering all of Putin's telephone conversations within a couple of hours, Peskov said [ 3 ]
- According to Peskov, foreign leaders congratulate Putin on his birthday, and in some conversations substantive issues are also briefly raised [ 3 ]
- Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on October 6 that many foreign leaders had congratulated Putin, including Chinese President Xi Jinping [ 3 ]
- Putin was also congratulated on October 7 by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Milorad Dodik of Republika Srpska's ruling SNSD party, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan [ 3 ]
- Peskov said earlier on October 7 that the president would spend the day on work matters, and expressed hope Putin would let family and close ones congratulate him in the evening [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The agenda and any decisions of the Security Council meeting are not stated All three documents mention the meeting but none describes its subject
- Which foreign leaders Putin spoke to by telephone, and what was said Peskov said a consolidated statement would be published within a couple of hours; the documents do not contain its contents
- Which substantive issues were reportedly raised in some of the calls Peskov referred to them only briefly, without naming topics
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- RIA Novosti reports that Putin will hold an operational meeting of the Security Council [ 1 ]
- TASS reports the same, adding that the Russian leader marks his birthday on October 7 [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti reports Peskov's briefing: the Security Council meeting with permanent members, the day's series of international calls, and a consolidated statement on the calls to be published within a couple of hours [ 3 ]