Putin: Spying scandal highlights need for restrictions
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin today said the discovery of an alleged spy ring run by British diplomats also accused of funnelling funds to non-governmental organisations proved the government was right to impose new restrictions on NGOs.
Putin appeared to play down the likelihood of expelling the four British Embassy staff accused of spying and said that Russia did not intend to allow the spy scandal to spoil relations with the West.
But, he said, it was “lamentable” that foreign intelligence services were financing Russian non-profit groups.
“We see that there are attempts to work with non-governmental organisations with the use of intelligence tools, and that there is financing of non-governmental organisations by intelligence agencies,” Putin said.
Russia’s main security agency this week accused the British diplomats of secretly providing money for NGOs.
Putin signed into a law a measure earlier this month that imposed severe new limits on the activities of NGOs.
The legislation attracted a tide of Western criticism.
