‘Opposition would destabilise nation’
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that some of his opponents would destabilise Russia and usher in chaos if they were elected in a presidential election next year, but promised genuine political competition.
Putin, who is running for re-election i n March, was answering a question at his annual news conference about opposition leader Alexei Navalny who looks unlikely to be allowed to contest due to what he says is a trumped up criminal case.
The question was put to him to Ksenia Sobchak, a television personality who has said she plans to run against Putin in the same election, which polls suggest Putin will comfortably win.
Putin, in response, accused Sobchak, who has said she wants to attract voters who are “against all candidates,” of not offering any positive solutions to the problems facing Russia.
He likened Navalny to former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili who came to power in his own country in 2004 after a peace- ful revolution and is now heavily involved in politics in Ukraine, where he is calling for the impeachment of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
“Do you want tens of people like Saakashvili to be running around public squares?” Putin asked Sobchak, when asked about Navalny not being allowed to take part in the election.
Putin said the authorities were not afraid of genuine political competition and promised such competition would exist.
Navalny, posting on social media, said Putin’s response showed the reasons for barring him from taking part in next year’s presidential election were due to “a political decision.”