RPR-Parnas could merge with Progress, December 5 - Kasyanov
MOSCOW. March 5 (Interfax) - The co-chairman of the RPR-PARNAS political party, Mikhail Kasyanov, has not ruled out the possibility of the party's future merger with two others, Progress and December 5.
"I do not rule out the possibility of a future consolidation with Navalny's Progress and December 5 party, the unification into one party because we have no ideological and political disagreements or differences in our manifestos and by-laws," Kasyanov told reporters on Wednesday.
There has been no concrete agreement yet on the unification between these parties' leaders, he said.
"I do not rule out that in the event of unification, Alexei Navalny could become one of the organization's co-chairmen," Kasyanov said.
The process of consolidating the three parties could get an additional boost after the fall elections to the Moscow City Duma, he said.
The withdrawal by one of the RPR-PARNAS co-chairmen, Vladimir Ryzhkov, has not affected the party's ability to work, Kasyanov said. Since Ryzhkov's departure only six people have followed suit, and several more, in Barnaul, could quit in the very near future, he said.
"From the party's point of view, there is no risk. We regret that it happened. No doubt, the doors are always open for Ryzhkov," Kasyanov said.
Despite what happened, the party continues active preparations for the Moscow Duma elections, with 33 candidates currently being on the party list, he said.
Furthermore, the party is opening offices in several more regions where it has not been previously represented, Kasyanov said.
