BERLIN, May 9. /TASS/. The West is very politicizing the entire story with restricting the activity of Alexey Navalny’s organizations in Russia, Russian Ambassador to Berlin Sergey Nechayev said in an interview with Germany’s RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland.
"This whole story is certainly being very politicized in the West, but our investigators rely on Russian legislation," the diplomat said in an interview published on Saturday. "From our viewpoint, the goal of these organizations is to destabilize Russia’s domestic political situation in the light of the upcoming parliamentary elections this September," Nechayev said.
"Look at other countries where NGOs violate the Constitution, either in Germany or in the United States. The state authorities’ actions there are very tough," he noted.
In late April, the Moscow City Court banned the activity of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, the Foundation for the Protection of Citizens' Rights, which were recognized as NGOs in Russia. The court will consider on the merits the Moscow prosecution’s request that the Anti-Corruption Foundation, the Foundation for the Protection of Citizens' Rights and the Navalny Headquarters movement be designated as extremist organizations on May 17.
In comment on the situation in Donbass and the West’s claims that Russia had allegedly moved its forces to the border with Ukraine, the envoy noted that "these were the scheduled drills on Russian soil." "NATO’s Defender Europe maneuvers right near our borders can also arouse discontent in Russia," he stressed.
The ambassador also pointed out that Moscow was still waiting for Kiev’s response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal on meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky in Moscow. "We are not a party to the conflict, we are mediators like Germany and France," the diplomat said.
The Minsk Agreements stipulate granting a special status to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. "Obviously, our colleagues in Kiev don’t want this. Probably, the pressure by Ukrainian nationalists is too much or some other country defines the rules," he noted.
The ambassador also commented on US President Joe Biden’s interview, in which he made a disparaging remark about President Putin. "I have never heard anything like that in my entire diplomatic career. If you ask me personally how I view this, I can only say that I cannot find the right words in the German language," he said.
Nechayev also recalled Putin’s proposal to clarify the issues of bilateral ties with the US via direct talks with Biden. "Now modalities [of a meeting between the presidents in a neutral country] are being considered," he said.