Rossiya 24, a state television station, showed Putin seated with the president of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, at a palace in St. Petersburg, as the two discussed Kyrgyzstan’s planned accession to a Russian-backed regional trade group.
Putin’s departure from the public eye captivated Moscow’s political class, already uneasy from the war simmering in neighboring Ukraine and the killing of the opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on Feb. 27.
Before reappearing in St. Petersburg, Putin on Monday ordered a military exercise in western and northern Russia that put the Northern Fleet, the Western Military District and some airborne forces on full combat readiness, the Tass …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
