4 Jun 2012 16:57

Prokhorov disappointed with opposition street protests

MOSCOW. June 4 (Interfax) - Businessman Mikhail Prokhorov says he will not take part in the June 12 March of Millions and will abstain from support to protest rallies so far.

"I will not take part in the protests because I do not see any positive agenda," he told a Monday press conference at the Interfax main office.

"I took part [in the protests] thrice when I saw that they were topical and led somewhere," he said. "The protest movement does not have the necessary agenda at present."

"When we form an agenda or somebody else forms it, we will be ready to support a positive agenda. We are against revolutions; we stick with the evolutionary and rapid development within the framework of effective laws. The civil society has a possibility to influence the authorities and to make them change," Prokhorov said.

He said also that he would not impede the participation of his supporters in protest actions.

Prokhorov said his party was no place for extremists and nationalists. "We will not admit extremists and nationalist organizations to our platform," he said.

The businessman also said that the party should have realistic goals. "No matter how much some citizens may want, it is impossible to hold a new State Duma election. The agenda must be realistic," he said.

He also said that his party would not have a precise political vector. "We must stop dividing the society into the right and the left, ours and not ours," he said.

Prokhorov said he would cooperate with the Committee of Civil Initiatives led by ex-Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. "He [Kudrin] is doing a very important job: he is forming an expert floor and we will cooperate with him gladly," he said.