MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. The Kremlin is not following the Kirovles case proceedings and the statements opposition activist Alexei Navalny has been making during court hearings, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He denied Navalny’s claim that the authorities sought to deprive him of the opportunity to run for president. "Electoral campaigns have not started yet," the Kremlin spokesman noted.

"Unfortunately, we haven’t heard any statements related to the case itself, but we haven’t been following the case closely," Peskov said. When requested to comment on Navalny’s claim that the judicial proceedings are being stage-managed, Peskov said that this case "does not top our agenda."

When asked if the Kremlin would like the proceedings to be completed as soon as possible, Peskov noted that "the Kremlin believes that all judicial proceedings should be completed in due course." "As far as this case goes, we (the Russian Presidential Administration) have neither any particular position nor any particular interest," the Kremlin spokesman stressed.

Peskov denied Navalny’s claim that the country’s leadership wanted to disqualify him from running in the presidential election. "The Kremlin has no electoral agenda yet, we actually do not understand how anyone can be disqualified if electoral campaigns have not started yet," Peskov said reiterating that the Kremlin was not following the Kirovles case proceedings.

The Kirvoles case hearings are underway in the city of Kirov. On Wednesday, Navalny was brought to court. In July 2013, he was found guilty of embezzling the Kirovles state company’s funds and was given a five-year suspended sentence. However, Russia’s Supreme Court cancelled the sentence taking into consideration a ruling issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The case has since been reopened.