Interfax: Kremlin: Prohibition of NGOs’ operations in Russia does not mean restriction of access to democratic values

(Interfax – July 29, 2015)

The inclusion of one or several non-governmental organizations (NGO) in a list of those whose operations on Russian territory are undesirable does not restrict access of Russian citizens to democratic values, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“It would be absolutely wrong to say that, with the prohibition of this or that organization, Russian citizens would be deprived of something. A huge number of non-governmental and other organizations are operating on Russian territory, including human rights ones and those operating in the social sector,” Peskov told journalists in commenting on a remark that the designation of NGOs as undesirable restricts the development of civil society in Russia.

“Therefore, the prohibition of operations of one or several organizations will definitely not mean any restriction of access of Russian citizens to democratic values,” he added.

“The law has been enforced, and, in keeping with this law’s provisions, some organizations have been included in this list,” Peskov said. “All this complies with our legislation,” he said.

The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office qualified the operations of the U.S. nonprofit organization National Endowment for Democracy (NED) as undesirable in Russia on July 29.