GORKI, December 13 (Itar-Tass) —— President Dmitry Medvedev thinks it necessary to pass many of State Duma committees under control of the opposition.
“In order to guarantee the rights of all parties it is necessary to ensure control of a substantial number of important committees not by the ruling party but by the opposition,” he told leaders of parliamentary parties on Tuesday. “Being the top candidate of the United Russia Party, I request to take my opinion into consideration.”
Medvedev called for further reforms of the Russian political system. “I have been working on it all through the recent years,” he said, admitting that achievements in some areas were better than in others. “No one can reproach me for not adopting laws aimed to upgrade the political system,” the president said.
“New decisions must be made, decisive steps must be taken to lift the remaining restrictions on the political activity, and a gap between social groups and institutions must be avoided,” he said.
Medvedev urged the fulfillment of tasks declared earlier, such as economic modernization, solution of social problems, improvement of the living standards and strengthening of the defense ability of the nation. “All these issues remain in the center of attention and must be pursued with due account of the opinions of all sides,” he said.