VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 12 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for improving the procedure of designating Russians as foreign agents.
"I always ask law enforcement agencies, the prosecution service and investigative bodies to propose how this procedure could be improved," Putin said at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum on Tuesday.
This concerns Russian citizens who are funded from abroad but are not engaged in public social activities.
"There are many nuances, and human rights activists have repeatedly told me so. There are lots of nuances caused by the fact that people, who do not engage in public activities but deal with ecology or something else, fall under this law. Yes, we make adjustments," Putin said.
As to whether one could get rid of the foreign agent status, Putin said, "Yes, this can be done, and there are such precedents. This can be done by a court order."
While responding to a remark that "everyone is lumped together as foreign agents," Putin said, "We are not lumping anyone together, who are we lumping? The United States has had a similar law since 1938, and our law is practically a calque. Our law is much more liberal."