A Just Russia party leader skeptical about conspiracy theory of Chavez's death
MOSCOW. March 6 (Interfax) - Nikolai Levichev, a leader of the A Just Russia party, has ridiculed suggestions that Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez's death could have been a result of an operation by foreign special services.
"There are no reliable facts supporting this theory. It is really regrettable that millions of people suffer from this illness worldwide, and it is still not very clear where it could sneak up from at any age," the party cited Levichev as saying in a statement on Wednesday.
"It is not the right day today to pursue conspiracy theories. We should pay deserved tributes to Chavez and wish the Venezuelan people to go through this tragic time in a decent way," he said.
The party said Levichev had sent a letter to Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro to express condolences on Chavez's death on behalf of his party and on his personal behalf.
"We in Russia, as well as the entire progressive humankind, had been worried to follow Chavez's struggle with a severe illness and hoped for his sooner recovery. Unfortunately, his body proved to be powerless. This is a great loss," he said.
He called Chavez a talented politician and firm fighter for justice.
"We, Russian Social-Democrats and supporters of building a 21st century-type socialism in Russia, were thrilled to follow Chavez building 21st century-type socialism in Venezuela. I believe a lot of people in the world empathized with him if only because he was defending his country's freedom from the world hegemon," Levichev said.