President Joe Biden will host the worldwide COVID-19 meeting later this week, but Vladimir Putin does not have any plans to attend.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) greets US President Joe Biden (R) during the US - Russia Summit 2021 at the La Grange Villa near Lake Geneva.
Biden To Convene a Virtual Summit
In a recently published article in Newsweek, the White House announced on Friday that Biden would host a virtual summit of world leaders and global health experts on September 22 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
According to the statement, the purpose of the conference is to bring together civil society, NGOs, philanthropists, businesses, and global leaders to unite on a single vision for fighting COVID-19 and end the global pandemic that heavily impacted countries across the globe.
Participants will be urged to commit to "a greater degree of ambition" in four areas, including vaccinating the globe by improving equitable access to vaccinations, saving lives by addressing the oxygen crisis, and making diagnostics, treatments, and personal protective equipment (PPE) more accessible, according to a published article in MSN News.
Meanwhile, according to a source familiar with the administration's draft goals who spoke with a news outlet, Biden is also likely to call on global leaders to commit to vaccinating 70 percent of the world's population against COVID-19 within a year.
Putin Receives the Invitation but Has No Plans To Attend
According to state-owned news agency RIA, Russian President Vladimir Putin received an invitation to the virtual conference last week but does not intend to attend. This week, Putin will work in seclusion after "a few dozen" coronavirus infections were discovered in his closest circle, per U.S. News reports.
In a published article in a Russian news outlet Tass, Peskov told reporters on Monday that Putin is in good health and continues to work. This week, however, most activities will be held by videoconference. Peskov subsequently stated that Putin had tested negative for the virus and that he is in perfect health, although he did not say who had been affected or if it was his family, guards, or protocol officials.
Putin is scheduled to appear via video conference in his next session of the Collective Security Council (CSTO) and make a remote appearance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's Council of Heads of State meeting despite his apparent refusal to attend Wednesday's COVID-19 summit.
Status of Russia's Parliamentary Elections
According to Russian news agency Interfax, Andrei Turchak, United Russia's general council secretary, the party gained 315 seats in the 450-seat State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, as of early Monday. Putin's United Russia party claims a resounding win in Russia's legislative elections, which began on Friday, September 17.
In a published article in Daily Advent, according to the lists as of 8 a.m., United Russia has received more than 48 percent of the votes, allowing them to get 120 mandates. In 195 single-mandate seats, their candidates win. According to early figures, the party will win about 315 seats in the State Duma, or parliament, giving it a constitutional majority.
According to the electoral commission, United Russia's closest competitor, the Communist Party, received approximately 19 percent of the vote, with more than 99 percent of ballots tallied. According to authorities, United Russia's win means it will have more than two-thirds of the 450 seats in the country's parliament.
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