Vladimir Putin wishes Ukrainian president a happy New Year for the first time in six years

On December 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke over the phone with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Kremlin announced.

The call was initiated by the Ukrainian administration. The two presidents discussed the importance of their new gas transport deal and the recent prisoner exchange between Kyiv and the breakaway republics of the Donbas region. The two leaders also wished each other a happy New Year.

According to the Kremlin’s website, Putin has not wished a Ukrainian president a happy New Year for six years, throughout the presidency of Petro Poroshenko. Putin last issued a New Year’s greeting to a Ukrainian president in December 2013, when Viktor Yanukovich occupied the post.