23 Aug 2019 13:41

Peskov rules out possibility that Putin may be unaware of any emergency

MOSCOW. Aug 23 (Interfax) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has ruled out the possibility that President Vladimir Putin may be unaware or misinformed about any emergency.

Diletant magazine has published an article in its monthly edition in which former Soviet President Michael Gorbachev said he was not informed about the possible consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident during the first 24 hours of the emergency. The press asked Peskov on Friday whether a similar situation might have happened in connection with the incident at the testing range in the Arkhangelsk region.

"The thing is we do not know how and via what channels the then Soviet administration was being informed. But I can assure you that no such thing is possible nowadays," Peskov said.

"The number of sources, which provide the president with information, and the speed of information exchange inside and outside the country are so large that the Chernobyl situation simply cannot repeat itself," he said.

Peskov could not say whether Putin had watched HBO's mini-series Chernobyl. "Frankly, I do not know," he said.