While his American counterpart Joe Biden has been repeatedly spotted reading prepared and vetted responses, the Russian president holds hours-long on-air conferences with ease, Western observers admit.
"Personally, I think it is important for any politician to stay on top of their subject matter, and I prefer the somewhat more informal live format at these press conferences," Dr. Roslyn Fuller, director of the non-profit think tank Solonian Democracy Institute and the author of the book "Beasts and Gods: How Democracy Changed Its Meaning and Lost Its Purpose", told Sputnik.
"American politicians have become very 'produced', and try to avoid any possible downtime, awkwardness or misstep in communication. This was an issue even with Obama, who was often criticized for 'speaking from a teleprompter', despite his great charisma. So that 'overproduction' that aims at a really slick output is peculiarly American. It is also what their audience expects," she continued.
The Canadian-Irish author pointed out that from a Western point of view, Putin is "almost always very calm and somewhat dry." She noted that this time, Putin also "seemed fairly relaxed" and in control of the situation.
For his part, Angelo Giuliano, a Hong Kong-based political and financial analyst, spotlighted the fact that Putin picked a Xinhua reporter's question prior to that of the New York Times journalist.
"It is indeed very symbolic that Putin took Xinhua to ask the first question, he probably wanted to show that the US doesn’t play the first role anymore," Giuliano told Sputnik.
The political analyst highlighted that China has become Russia’s most important strategic partner, as both countries "offering each other complementary strengths".
"In the meantime, the World is changing and the shift of gravity is in eastward and in the Global South. While the West talks and talks, the rest of the World is acting," the political analyst underscored.