MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said at his annual "Direct Line" session that he was ready to talk with anyone who was willing to improve people's lives rather than exploiting the country's difficulties for self-promotion.
"I am ready to talk with everyone who really aims to improve people's lives, aims to solve the problems the country is facing, rather than using the existing difficulties, that are always in abundance everywhere, for their own political and personal promotion. In order to cash in politically on these difficulties, only exacerbating them," Putin said answering a question on whether he was ready for dialogue with opposition.
The president added that financing of several Russian opposition figures resembles the financing of several management companies.
"One of the main problems of management companies is that they are the mediators in the process of moving money from the state, to the ones who provide services. They should be deprived of the right to be mediators in these money-related issues. The same situation is with the opposition. In this sense they are not better, they are speculating on these problems. It is necessary not to speculate, but to propose solutions. And people who propose the solutions are people who should be taken into consideration and they have a right for a dialogue with authorities," the Russian leader added.
Russia's ruling political party, United Russia, has a majority in the parliament, while there are also a number of other political parties, including the Russian Communist Party and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. There are also a number of political organizations that are not represented in government bodies.
