Vladimir Putin will not send New Year's wishes to American Presidents Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Kremlin said on Friday, in the midst of a crisis between Moscow and the West since the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

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“These counterparts are not sending us any wishes. In fact, we have no contact with them. And given the unfriendly acts they constantly undertake, the president will not send them greetings,” Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian presidency, told reporters.

Conversely, Vladimir Putin has already sent Happy New Year 2023 wishes to several leaders closer to the Kremlin.

According to a list published Friday by the Russian presidency, Vladimir Putin congratulated in particular the Chinese presidents Xi Jinping, Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Syrian Bashar al-Assad, Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro, as well as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the Kremlin, he also sent greetings to two former Western leaders, Italian Silvio Berlusconi and German Gerhard Schröder.