MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. Russian parties, which are not represented in the parliament, are indignant about the information about a meeting in Kostroma of U.S. diplomats and Russian oppositionists.
"This situation is abnormal, as it is not just a meeting of some representatives of a foreign country (as international contacts are necessary), but a meeting of an embassy staff, those, who are involved in promoting of their country’s foreign policy," Vyacheslav Maratkanov of the Right Course Party. He said a meeting between diplomats and parties "is beyond activities of an embassy."
The politician said the meeting featured Bradford Bell, First Secretary of the U.S. Embassy, who, he said, is a "professional provocateur, used to work in the Balkans, has been participating actively in "promoting of democracy" to the south and south-east." Maratkanov said "consultations of the kind are a bad sign on the eve of elections to the State Duma (Russian parliament)."
He paid attention to how the Russian opposition behaves during the current election campaign.
"We participate in elections in six regions," he said. "We are opposition. Though the constructive opposition. At regions, where non-constructive opposition participates, they are not interested in results, they do not discuss regional agendas, no, they are using federal resources and absolute denial. Those are ideas of those who finance them - foreign funds."
Head of the Rodina (Fatherland) Party, a deputy of the State Duma, Alexei Zhuravlev said the U.S. diplomats had requested a meeting with his party in Kostroma. He wants to file an inquiry with the Russian Foreign Ministry regarding the actions of the U.S. representatives.
"They did request, persistently, called with a share of boldness," he told TASS on Sunday. "They were told immediately we are not going to have any meetings, we do not have any interests with the U.S. embassy."
He said representatives of the embassy at least ten times called his colleagues in the party asking for a meeting in Kostroma.
The politician says it might have been a "shelter operation" for a meeting with oppositionist Alexei Navalny and other representatives of the opposition.
The party leader said he had filed an inquiry with the Foreign Ministry and would "make another inquiry to the Foreign Ministry if they have ever allowed the meeting.
The media earlier published information about a meeting in Kostroma between the U.S. diplomats with representatives of political parties, including with Alexei Navalny.