Kremlin does not see claims to Google as extraordinary situation

MOSCOW, Sep 5 (PRIME) -- The Kremlin believes that claims to Google are not an emergency situation, but day to day work of the authorities monitoring compliance with the current legislation, press secretary of Russia’s president Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

“It’s daily work, let’s say, to monitor different mass media, information floors for compliance with the current legislation. This is why I don’t think we can ignore such things, but we should not treat them as something extraordinary,” Peskov told reporters.

The Central Election Commission and the communications service earlier sent official letters to Google regarding responsibility for distribution of calls to campaigns via YouTube on the elections day on Sunday.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service warned the U.S. giant of inadmissibility of interference in elections.

Russian are in dialogue with Google on advertising of unsanctioned campaigns on the threshold of the elections, the communications service’s Director Alexander Zharov said in a broadcast of the Kommersant FM radio station.

“The communications service, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the Central Election Commission, and the Prosecutor General’s Office have officially expressed their concerns to Google about the current situation as the promoted unsanctioned actions are putting forward political demands that could influence the course of voting, which means they grossly interfere in the election process of the Russian Federation,” Zharov said.

“Google is in dialogue with authorities of the Russian Federation at the moment. Further events will evolve depending on the outcome of this dialogue.”

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