Yesterday Grigory Yavlinsky forwarded a letter to the Public Prosecutor General of Russia Vladimir Ustinov and Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Nikolai Patrushev, requesting clarification of the situation with operative inquiries into Yabloko

In the letter addressed to the Head of the FSB, Yavlinsky asks: "Can you confirm whether information - that you have issued orders, citing instructions from Vladimir Putin, to perform operative inquiries into me and my immediate family - is true or not?"

Yavlinsky adds in the letter to the Public Prosecutor-General: "If such measures have been taken...., I hereby ask you to instruct the FSB to provide me with all the information obtained during the performance of operative inquires on this issue."

From "Segodnya" newspaper

Deputy of the State Duma, Chairman of the Political Council of St.Petersburg branch of Yabloko, Igor Artemyev, thinks that a single liberal-minded democratic party should be created in the country.

According to Artemyev, such party could be based on Yabloko and the Union of Right-Wing Forces (SPS), the parties that have already adopted a principal decision on a coalition.

This was announced by Artemyev on June 13, 2000 at a press conference in St.Petersburg.

Asked about the possibility of establishing a three-party system in Russia, Artemyev expressed his view that this should be a five-party system, rather than a three-party system.

According to Artemyev, in the future only the following parties will remain in Russia: Unity, the CPRF, a nationalist party, liberal party and conservative party.

Speaking about the mechanism to be used to create a coalition between the St.Petersburg branches of Yabloko and the SPS, Igor Artemyev noted that all the technical issues will be discussed at Yabloko's conference to be held on June 17.

According to Artemyev, first of all a single co-ordination council of Yabloko and SPS should be created, which will launch preparations for the merger of the two organisations.

Artemyev also recalled that the submission of a single candidate from Yabloko and the SPS at the gubernatorial elections in St.Petersburg had served as the incentive for creating a coalition of the two parties. He also said that there may be cooperation on economic issues with the St.Petersburg branch of Unity, noting that there are no problems here.

Speaking about political cooperation with the "Bears", Artemyev noted that "here we shall wait and see".

Based on Interfax reports.

See also:

Grigory Yavlinsky: Protocol on a coalition between the SPS and Yabloko may be signed shortly

Sergei Ivanenko: The union between the SPS and Yabloko was a correct step: the strategy targeted at uniting all democratic forces will be continued

Yabloko calls on democrats to unite

Yabloko and SPS begin working together