The meeting of the new US ambassador in Moscow with the opposition: the party in power is indignant, and the diplomat is satisfied

The new US Ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFol , the main ideologist of the Russian-American reboot, began his mission with a meeting with Russian civil activists and opposition politicians. The leaders of Parnas, Voices have already criticized the representatives of the ruling party in the State Duma and many ordinary citizens for this. The opposition themselves described the meeting with the ambassador as "introductory." Macfol was in solidarity with them and added that he was hoping for the continuation of the "reboot".

“All the highest American officials who come to Russia are necessarily met with government officials and the leaders of civil society,” McFol himself wrote later on his blog , which was opened shortly before arriving in Russia. “We call it a" policy of double participation. "We learned a lot thanks to communication with the leaders of civil society."

The leader of the Khimkinsky activists Evgeny Chirikov, the co -chair of Parnasa Boris Nemtsov, the head of the “For Human Rights” Lev Ponomarev, the head of the Russian branch of the anti -corruption organization Transparency International, Elena Panfilova, head of the Voilia Shibanova Anti -Corruption, Journalist Olga Romanova, head of the Russian branch, head of the Russian branch, head Federation of car owners Sergey Kanaev and chairman of the movement of entrepreneurs' rights "Business Solder" Yana Yakovlev, Kommersant writes.

Also on Tuesday, McFol met with representatives of the parliamentary opposition. From the Communist Party, the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Kalashnikov was the deputies of fair Russia was represented by deputies Ilya Ponomarev and Oksana Dmitrieva. The leader of Yabloko Sergey Mitrokhin also came.

The opposition began to communicate with Macfol with the fact that in an ironic form they demanded money. "I took a feasible part in the organization of the December protest, after which I heard Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that, it turns out, I did it with the State Department’s money. So I would like to ask: where and when can I get them?" - asked Kanaev. The ambassador carefully replied that "only the one who uttered them can answer the words," after which this topic was brought to a joke and moved to the discussion of other issues.

Russian opposition activists agreed with their new acquaintance that the meeting was an introductory. “It was just a acquaintance, a working meeting, which is held by all ambassadors, drawing information not only from official sources. We are not received by the State Department, no matter what we say,” said Panfilova.

“We discussed different issues. Including related to the bilateral relations of Russia and the United States, in particular the problems of the pro. The conversation also went on domestic political Russian problems,” Dmitrieva said in an interview with Radio Liberty .

"The first meeting is useful ... Michael knows Russia very well, is wonderful about our country. His appointment is a big plus to improve Russian -American relations," Nemtsov said RIA Novosti .

“The fact that Macfall did not arrange the first meeting with Putin, but with the opposition, characterizes it very positively. This is right!”, Chirikova wrote on her Twitter .

"Why did you come?" - "You are Surkovsky propaganda!"

At the door of the US Embassy, ​​the opposition was met by activists from "ours", trying to interview with ideological opponents. All as one they turned away from the camera and tried not to notice the "interviewers". When asked what brought them to this meeting, only Nemtsov answered, who declared that he wanted to ask McFol, how he became an ambassador.

An hour later, the opposition, apparently conferred, went out ready for defense. Without waiting for the new questions of the "nurses", everyone repeated the winged phrase: "You are Surkovsky propaganda."

"On the first day, to bow to him - this is disgusting"

Criticism of a much larger scale awaited the opposition a little later on the Internet. Here are just a few of the comments of bloggers.

“I hope that politically competent comrades will find an explanation this time. For example, these wonderful people just went to drink tea. And it turned out at the same time that at the same time,” Lex -Kravetski writes Twitter WM_Parovoz user “reasonable” that Macfol arranged the first meeting with his subordinates. ” And in his blog, he wrote: "There are still questions, who works for whom?"

“The point is not in anti -Americanism, but who is Macfol. And on the first day to bow to him, this is disgusting,” remarked on Twitter Kononenkome .

“Public figures” have prepared for the next cut of sponsorship money, now it will become even brighter, more creative and aggressive, because the money will have to be worked out, ”writes Mdrozdov blogger.

“Here you can become like Senator McCain, when he emphasized the Georgian army, sweeping the poor Tskhinval from the face of the Earth, and was remembered to the whole world is extremely cynical by cynical words:“ Today we are all a little Georgians. ”Indeed, today we are all a little Surkovsky propaganda. It is impossible to deny the fact of the influence of the United States on a number of key figures of the systemic and non -progress opposition,” writes e-kopylov .

However, a number of bloggers who cannot be suspected of engagement have "stood up" for McFola and opposition figures who visited him.

“The Mr. Ambassador did everything right! Right! .. Asshire in Russia to live and work, but how does he still find out objective information about what is happening in the country, no matter how from communicating with the opposition? .. So welcome to Russia, Mr. Ambassador,” McFola Antikorr welcomes.

“Well, they invited the opposition to an appointment. So what? Because of what the whole noise? Are we at war with America? .. Receptions in the embassies are arranged regularly ... Invitations are sent to different people ... I saw Zhirinovsky, Zyuganov and the devil in a stupa,” writes Avmalgin .

Macfol actions can interfere with "reboot"

A number of experts believe that there is nothing special in meeting the American ambassador with the opposition and this event will hardly affect the relationship of the two countries.

“Apparently, the Kremlin is already accustomed to such the oddities of American diplomacy, he does not acutely reacted to such a meeting, realizing that at these meetings no fateful issues are resolved,” the director of the Center for Political Information, Alexei Mukhin, said on the air of the Echo of Moscow . He believes that "McFol did not set his goal to tease the Kremlin or somehow wound it."

However, in "United Russia" on Wednesday hinted that they were still "wounded." The head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs United Russia Alexei Pushkov said that the invitation of the new US ambassador to the opposition could prevent the establishment of trusting relations between the two countries.

“We are told that this is the usual form of communication with political forces that helps to understand the situation in Russia. In fact, in US diplomacy, this is usually only for those countries where Washington is not satisfied with the current government ... And one thing is when such a meeting with representatives of the opposition takes place in a calm atmosphere, and quite another when this happens during the exacerbation of the political situation in the eve of the presidential election in Russia,” said Pushkov Interfax . “The statement of Mr. McFol about the desire to restore trust between Washington and Moscow may interfere with his own actions taken in the very first hours of stay on the Russian land.”