MOSCOW, February 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Interior Ministry has not issued any orders allowing police officers to open fire on demonstrators, a deputy head of the ministry's public order protection department said Friday.
The opposition website Ingushetia.org earlier said police officers would be allowed to open fire on demonstrators. The site even named the alleged order - No.800.
"Such statements are ravings and nonsense. I don't know anything about such an 'order,'" Police Maj.-Gen. Leonid Vedenov said. "All regulations and standards of the Russian Interior Ministry are issued on the basis of Russian law, we cannot go beyond the powers established in law."
He said there are certain documents that clearly regulate the actions of special units maintaining public order.
"There can be nothing of the kind 99.9%, but only the Lord God can know 100%," Vedenov said.
