Putin Adviser Sees Political Will to End Greenpeace Dispute
Source: Bloomberg
Putin Adviser Sees Political Will to End Greenpeace Dispute
By Henry Meyer - Nov 19, 2013 8:15 AM ET
Russia is showing political will to end a two-month-long dispute over the prosecution of Greenpeace activists after they began to be set free on bail, President Vladimir Putins human rights adviser said.
Its a good sign, Mikhail Fedotov said in a phone interview today from Moscow. I hope the same will happen to the others.
A court in St. Petersburg today granted bail to a Brazilian, an Argentine, a New Zealander and a Pole, a day after three Russian citizens detained during an Arctic protest were also set free, Greenpeaces Russian branch said on its Twitter Inc. account.
The legal moves have the potential to defuse a dispute that has pitted the worlds biggest energy exporter against the environmental organization after Russia detained 30 people for participating in a Greenpeace protest at an OAO Gazprom offshore oil platform in September. Russian authorities last week transferred 28 Greenpeace activists and two journalists from 18 countries to St. Petersburg from the port city of Murmansk, easing consular access to them.
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