By Country / Russia
Putin Warns Against Interfering In Russian Elections
June 08, 2007
Vladimir Putin speaking to reporters at the G8 summit today (epa)
Speaking at a press conference at the close of the Group of Eight summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, Putin said he "will not allow any attempts to interfere or support any political forces inside the Russian Federation."
Russia is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections in December 2007 and a presidential election in March 2008.
Also in Germany today, British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he told Putin that other countries are "worried and fearful" about Russia's political direction.
Britain's relations with Russia are at a post-Cold War low, most notably over the radiation-poisoning death in London of former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko.
(compiled from agency reports)