MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - Opposition activist Alexei Navalny poses no threat to the authorities and he has not been discussed with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin prior to the Moscow mayoral elections in September 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"He [Sobyanin] has not even consulted with me on certain surnames. But it seems to me that the fact that the Moscow mayor is discussing political issues with the president is an utterly normal thing and there is nothing strange here," Putin said at a news conference in Moscow in Thursday.
"If [Navalny] posed a threat, he would not be allowed to take part in the elections and he would not be allowed legally and politically," Putin said.
"And the matter is not in some certain surnames," the president said.
"I assumed that everyone, who stands some chance to really fight for the mayoral position should do this and it is necessary to help them," Putin said.
It is difficult to pass the municipal filter for people, who are not well-known at the local level, the president said.
"This is related not to the fact that they criticize or do not criticize the authorities, it is just that municipals are closer to people and they understand what a person can do and what they can not. I assumed that if someone has real chances, then it is necessary to help these people to show themselves. And probably this will assist resolving several tasks: when people reach such a level, they start to understand the reality of our life, where we live, where it is necessary to go and what exactly should be aspired," Putin said.