There are no and cannot be untouchables in the fight against corruption in Russia, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

“In the fight against corruption, there are no untouchables in the hierarchy of officials and no untouchable regions,” Interfax quotes Peskov .

According to him, only those who do not break the law can consider themselves untouchable.

This is how the press secretary of the head of state commented on the latest events related to the fight against corruption and presidential decrees regarding the introduction of new restrictions on the activities of government officials.

At the same time, he does not believe that these events are some kind of new stage in the fight against corruption.

“This is not a new stage in the fight against corruption, but a continuation of consistent activities to combat this evil,” he said.

Regarding today's searches in the Novgorod region, Peskov also noted that there is nothing new here, recalling anti-corruption cases in the Ministry of Defense and other departments.

“This is routine anti-corruption activity,” Peskov said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the head of the presidential administration, Sergei Ivanov, said that the president had signed two decrees that determine the procedure for government officials to submit declarations on income and expenses. The decrees for the first time determine that officials are required to declare this information. At the same time, in their declarations they will be required to indicate information about their accounts, securities and real estate abroad. According to Ivanov, government officials will have to provide information on expenses for 2012 by July 1, 2013.

Peskov said there are no untouchables in the fight against corruption