Updated 3:23 p.m. Moscow Time with corrected headline, lead
WASHINGTON, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - US Department of State Spokesperson Jen Psaki has wished all the best to all born on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s birthday during a press briefing.
“I will also note on his birthday that it's also Desmond Tutu's birthday. It's also Yo-Yo Ma's birthday ... so I would celebrate the birth of all born today," Psaki said on Tuesday when asked by one of the reporters if she would like to use the occasion to wish the Russian leader happy birthday.
Putin, who celebrated his 62 birthday on Tuesday, has held a number of telephone talks, including with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and former president of the Italian Council of Ministers Silvio Berlusconi.
According to Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, the president took a day off and flew "over to Siberia, to the Siberian taiga, 300 to 400 kilometers away from the nearest town or village, where he will relax on his birthday."
