MOSCOW, Jul 1 Vladimir Putin has enough partners to play hockey, said the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the statement of Finnish President Sauli Niinistö that he would no longer go out on the ice with Putin. «In fact, sports, and such team sports as hockey, contribute to the formation of mutual trust. And from this point of view, at one time it was a very, very good, positive practice at the very beginning of Mr. Niinistö's presidential career. Well, now he says that he will not play. Putin has no shortage of members of his team, the general team. Therefore, Putin hockey plays, does it regularly,» Peskov said. On the eve of Niinistö, he said in an interview that he would not play hockey with the Russian leader again. This is how he answered a question about a 2012 photograph showing him and Putin in hockey uniforms on ice after a match.
