The Kremlin believes that the government's right to declare state of emergency is justified since the cabinet is directly overseeing the anti-coronavirus effort, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2020) The Kremlin believes that the government's right to declare state of emergency is justified since the cabinet is directly overseeing the anti-coronavirus effort, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
The lower chamber of the Russian parliament earlier in the day approved the law expanding the government's powers, allowing it to declare the state of emergency, in particular.
"Since the main [response] center works in the government, it is quite natural that the government should have more powers in the situation we are currently experiencing," Peskov told reporters.
When asked about the president's power to declare the state of emergency, the spokesman replied that the head of the state could "de jure and de facto" do this.
"And he does receive all the information. But the government is directly managing the effort against the spread of the coronavirus, and [Mikhail] Mishustin is the head of the government," the Kremlin spokesman said.
