MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. Russia is not currently considering blocking Google in the country, Anton Gorelkin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma (lower house of parliament) Committee on Information Policy, said.

Earlier, Andrey Svintsov, a member of the same committee, told the Govorit Moskva radio station that it was technically possible to block Google but there was hardly any reason to do that at the moment.

"As for big statements about bans, there are in fact no such plans. I specifically asked the regulators about it," Gorelkin wrote on the national messenger Max. "A ban would clearly entail an entire set of negative consequences, primarily affecting the performance of the Android operating system, on which 60% of Russians’ smartphones run," he added.

The lawmaker also pointed out that a ban like that was unlikely to make Google pay the existing fine in lawsuits filed by Russian companies. "Especially because the story is not over yet as hearings continue in foreign courts and various legal mechanisms are being employed. So even if there is no way of collecting the fine in full, the parties will still be able to make an agreement on reasonable terms," Gorelkin noted.

In his view, if Russia ever moves to abandon Google services, it should be done gradually. "I believe that legislative conditions need to be created for a smooth transition to domestic solutions," the lawmaker concluded.