Bill Clinton: “Well, yes. First of all, the last time I was here I met with a representative group of political leaders across all the…”

“Well, yes. First of all, the last time I was here I met with a representative group of political leaders across all the parties and had a joint discussion--I didn't have any individual bilaterals--because Russia is essentially a multiparty state. And so I'm going to do that again tomorrow. But that's not inconsistent with our position that in democracies, we believe the people have to make their own decisions, and we will honor the decisions that they make. In the countries that have essentially two-party systems, when I go to a country I virtually always meet with the leader of the opposition. And that's not just my policy; that's been the policy of the American President over a long period of time. So anybody who is playing by the rules here, the democratic rules, participating in the democratic system, is entitled to do it under the Russian Constitution, and I'm going to meet tomorrow with--the Ambassador invited a number of people here from the different political parties, and I'm still not sure who is coming and who is not. But I will meet with those who come and let them say whatever they want to say, and I'll ask them a few questions.”