Kremlin: Approval of Magnitsky list is a blow to Russian-US relations

The so-called Magnitsky case should not be discussed outside Russia, Moscow is empowered to demand the non-interference in its domestic affairs from abroad, Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the television channel Rossiya 1 on Sunday in comments on the publishing of the Magnitsky list in the United States. “One cannot interfere in the domestic affairs of another country partially, as one cannot be a little bit pregnant,” Peskov said in reply to the question whether US President Barack Obama has “softened” the Magnitsky list. In his view, “one can hardly say about a softer or harsher position in this issue.” “The approval of the Magnitsky list was detrimental to Russian-US relations, this is a blow to Russian-US relations,” the Kremlin high-ranking official said. He is confident that “while the world situation, a large number of regional conflicts, potentially new conflicts dictate the need for Russian-US rapprochement, because this is the two countries, which are responsible for global stability and security, the events are taking place that not just overshadow, but also harm bilateral relations.” Peskov stated that the approval of the Magnitsky list is a direct interference in Russian domestic affairs. “We regret about it,” he said. “The US president has vast powers, and certainly we would laud more the actions of the president (the United States), who would have averted the makeup of this list,” the Kremlin official noted. In his words, “the so-called Magnitsky case should not be discussed somewhere outside Russia at all, this is impermissible for us, and we will never agree on this.”