MOSCOW, May 11 (Itar-Tass) —— An opposition camp, which the protesters offer to deploy at the Chistye Prudy metro station in Moscow, will not exist for a long time, because it is illegal, press secretary of the Russian prime minister Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
“There will be no camp, I am convinced of this,” he said in an interview with the Kommersant daily that was posted on the Afisha website. “All such camps have only one end. As in all countries,” he added, explaining that “this is illegal.”
Peskov noted that he considers only constructive types of protest justified. “The demands for the liberalization of the political life and the registration of political parties can be considered constructive,” he said. “Many steps have been taken recently to this effect, some of them became a response to the demands of the opposition, some others were formulated by the president. But the authorities always react to constructive demands,” the press secretary added.
“The slogans like ‘We do not find the election results valid and demand cancel them’ is a silliness; the slogans ‘We demand to release a person, whom the legitimate court sentenced to 15 days in custody’ is a folly; the demand to cancel the elections is an attempt of the minority to impose their will on the majority,” Peskov said with confidence. “This is unconstructive, it is illogical, so, this is nothing but silliness,” he reiterated.
Speaking on the protest actions in Moscow, the press secretary also noted that, to his mind, “it would be wrong to exaggerate the scale and importance of these protests; it would be wrong not to take care of these protests; it would be silly to distance from reasonable constructive demands and proposals; it would be unreasonable to respond to unconstructive demands and sheer follies; it would be unforgivable not to punish provocations.”