Post date: Jun 06, 2013 8:50:23 PM
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, say on state television that they have separated.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JUNE 6, 2013) (REUTERS) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, said on state television on Thursday (June 6) that they had separated and their marriage was over after 30 years.
Asked on Rossiya-24 television about longstanding rumours that they no longer lived together, the 60-year-old Putin said: "That is true."Lyudmila Putina, 55, said it had been their common decision and that their marriage was over due to the fact that they barely see each other.
Asked whether they were divorced, Lyudmila said it was a "civilised divorce". But neither clarified whether they were legally divorced and Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he did not know.
The couple had last been seen in public together at Putin's inauguration to his third presidential term on May 7, 2012.
They married in 1983 and have two daughters, both in their 20s.