Dmitry Peskov is a press attaché to the Russian president, the main link between the leader and the media. He appeared on Russia Today to discuss his career and the president's relations with the media.
RT: A lot of international news organizations are here in Moscow. What do you think of the level of interest shown in this election?
Dmitry Peskov: It is understandable, the very high level of interest... An election is a transfer of power, a legitimate transfer. In such a great and big country like Russia, it cannot avoid intense interest from abroad and from domestic media - it is quite natural.
RT: You say legitimate - many people question this? How do you react when some people say that this was not a fair election - how do you respond to these allegations?
D.P.: It is very interesting to mention that... they started to insist on the illegitimacy of these elections before they even happened. This means that all this criticism is nothing more than old prejudices based on old stereotypes. Certainly, elections in such a big country like Russia... cannot be ideal, there are lots of technical disruptions being reported to the Central Election Committee and all the measures are being taken. But you cannot say that beforehand; you cannot say that without actually observing them.
RT: Your job is to fight against that. How easy has it been to counter these sorts of comments and stereotypes from the Western media?
D.P.: Extremely difficult. Sometimes the stereotypes that I have mentioned were overwhelming. Let's remember one year ago when President Putin was insisting that he was not considering some sort of plan, that he would not stay on for a third term, thereby changing the Russian Constitution. No one would believe him. He repeated his comments literally hundreds of times - but no one would believe him. Now, when this term is over, and President Putin is an acting President, and our country has a President-elect, everybody will see that President Putin and President-elect Medvedev are devoted to the Russian Constitution. The same could be said about the legitimacy of the Russian election.
RT: If you read the British press, for example, they wouldn't believe that, would they?
D.P.: Some of them would believe it, some of them would not. And our job is to increase the amount of those who would believe, and we are doing our best. Unfortunately, we are not wizards and we cannot convince all of them. Some of them are really, let's say, like they are living in the Cold War era.
RT: Do you think the image of the new president will have an effect on these ideas? A lot of analysts say that even wearing an open shirt and no tie has a very sort of western style about Medvedev - those things are important, they can make Russia more accessible.
D.P.: Putin and Medvedev are different people, although they are partners. They were partners over the last decade even before they came to Moscow from St. Petersburg, working there in the mayor's office. They know each other very closely. They support each other's attitude towards the main issues of the development of this country and international politics. But certainly they are different people and their styles are different. Medvedev will be the head of state, he will be determining international politics of the Russian Federation, enjoying the full scope of the presidency in accordance with the Russian Constitution. The main course will stay the same, because the course that was formed during two terms of the Putin presidency is known to be supported by president-elect Medvedev.
RT: What are your thoughts about the future of diplomacy and the diplomatic relations with Russia and the rest of the world?
D.P.: Russia has an ambitious plan for domestic development, for improving the quality of life of its population. And a country oriented on its domestic development is the last country in the world that would seek confrontation. So Russia will inevitably seek equal partnership, mutually beneficial relationships with the rest of the world including Britain and the US.
Combined Report, Russia Today, MN
