The Foundry, The Heritage Foundation Moscow’s recent diplomatic demarches manifest the Kremlin’s drive to solidify its positions ahead of meeting with President Obama. Therefore, the Kremlin is trying to give the appearance of concessions on the issues that have long been a matter of concern for the American side. For example, on President Medvedev’s order, the State Duma is urgently considering amendments to the NGO law. They are designed to somewhat soften the red tape in regard to NGO activities – to ease accounting and registration requirements. Typically, communists who opposed the amendments unequivocally stated that President Dmitry Medvedev is using them to send a clear signal to the West that he is a “liberalizer” and is allegedly going to promote civil society.
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