Russian opposition activists said that they are ready to meet with President Dmitry Medvedev, who earlier said he was “ready for talks.”
Speaking before journalism students at Moscow State University on Wednesday, Medvedev said that he was ready “to talk to anyone” but not at the rallies.
The head of the liberal Yabloko party, Sergei Mitrokhin, said that he was ready to meet with the president and discuss “the responsibility for the vote frauds, the dismissal of the Central Election Commission chief, Vladimir Churov…liberal political reforms.”
Sergei Udaltsov of the Left Front movement said that the authorities should outline specific proposals.
“Unfortunately, we hear only general statements [from the authorities]…there should be specific proposals addressed to specific people,” Udaltsov said.
Another opposition party leader, Vladimir Ryzhkov, said that the opposition would form a group of negotiators if the government agrees on talks.
Mass anti-government rallies have spread across Russia following the December parliamentary elections that the opposition claims were slanted in favor of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s party, United Russia.