MOSCOW, November 15 (Itar-Tass). On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly made it clear to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that if he washes dirty linen in public instead of discussing differences in the Kremlin, he must leave his post in the government, the RBC Daily writes. “If someone does not agree with something, like Kudrin once did, he moved to the expert community,” said the president. (Russia’s former Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin had to resign because of his criticism of the government).
On Tuesday, while Putin was in an Asian tour, Medvedev spoke out against his initiative to return to investigators the right to independently institute criminal proceedings over tax crimes. The Russian President responded with a tough rebuke to the prime minister’s criticism at a meeting of the Supervisory Board of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI).
The president is aware that some officials have criticized this idea. “I’ll see yet who says what on this matter,” he said. “My colleagues and I will talk about it, sort things out. But the problem here is solved very simply: I will have to remind them that there are certain practices to address issues before bringing them out to the media. We know that if someone does not agree with something, like Kudrin once did - he moved to the community of experts,” the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper quotes Putin.
Officials have long established the practice of discussing everything either in the government or in the presidential administration, Putin stressed. According to him, the discussions are rather democratic. “All of us, of course, want to look warm and fuzzy — and liberal,” shrugged the president. “But we have a different task. We are not stage players. Making this kind of decisions, we must seek balanced solutions that would secure the interests of all society groups.”
Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday for the first time publicly spoke out against the initiative of Vladimir Putin. According to him, the law enforcement bodies should have a good understanding of the tax specifics, “and not just rubberstamp the opening of criminal cases.” “In my view, all, including those who are currently considering this bill in the State Duma, should think about it,” Medvedev said.
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