Lawyers for Khodorkovsky deny sending pardon request to Russia's president, who has given annual press conference Vladimir Putin moved to pardon his strongest and most recognisable adversary on Thursday in comments made after the conclusion of a marathon four-hour press conference in Moscow. The Russian president said he would grant a pardon to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, formerly Russia's richest man, who has been in prison since 2003. Putin said he had recently received a request for such a pardon signed by Khodorkovsky. Lawyers for the former oil tycoon, however, said they did not know of any such request. Previously, Khodorkovsky has said he would not request a pardon because it entailed a recognition of guilt. Khodorkovsky has already faced two separate trials for economic crimes and is due to be released next August, however in recent months there have been rumours he might face a third trial to keep him locked up for longer. Putin said: "Not long ago he appealed to me for a pardon. He has already spent ten years behind bars, it's a serious punishment. He mentions humanitarian considerations, as his mother is ill. Given all of this, the correct decision should be taken and a decree on his pardoning will be signed very soon." Khodorkovsky, who was arrested in 2003 and found guilty in two separate trials of economic crimes, did not fall under the terms of a wide-ranging amnesty passed by Russia's parliament on Wednesday, which is set to see jailed punk rockers Pussy Riot walk free and the Greenpeace Arctic 30 allowed to leave Russia in the coming days. The sudden bout of clemency has been linked with an attempt to boost Russia's image in the run-up to the Winter Olympics, due to be held in Sochi in February, however the move to free Khodorkovsky comes as a surprise. However, Putin was defiant during his press conference on both Pussy Riot and Greenpeace. When asked if he thought the two-year jail sentence given to members of the punk group was too harsh, and whether as a father himself he felt sorry for the two jailed young mothers, he said: "I feel sorry not for that, but for their disgraceful behaviour, which I think degrades the dignity of women … They crossed all boundaries." On Greenpeace, Putin said he supported environmental organisations, but said the Greenpeace protest against the Prirazlomnaya rig was unacceptable: "It was either an attempt at getting PR, or an attempt at blackmail and extortion, or they were carrying out somebody's order to interfere with our work." Putin's marathon press conferences have become something of a tradition, and more than 1,300 journalists were accredited this year. Topics from geopolitical dilemmas to local issues. Many regional journalists see the conference as their only chance to get their local problems across, and they arrived armed with signs and banners to catch the president's attention. One woman even brought a furry toy which she waved in the air until Putin asked her what it was. "It's a yeti, and I would like to give to you as a present," she said. With the format not providing for follow-up questions, Putin was able to bat away the few combative questions with ease. Putin also spoke at length about Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who has been given temporary asylum in Russia. He insisted that Russian intelligence has never worked with Snowden and also said that he had never met Snowden in person. "Operationally, we are not working with him and never have done, and are not asking him any questions about how his agency worked on Russia," the Russian president said. "I won't hide it, this person is not without interest for me. I think that thanks to Snowden, a lot changed in the minds of millions of people, including in the minds of major political leaders." He added: "For me it was always intriguing how he decided this, because he's quite a young guy. What does he have? He doesn't have anything. How does he plan to live? Where does he plan to live?" Putin, half-joking, said that he was "jealous" that US authorities were able to carry out such invasive surveillance programmes, but the former KGB agent said that people should remember that espionage is necessary for security reasons: "However much our American friends are criticised, I think their work was mainly directed at fighting terrorism. Of course, this has its negative aspects and on a political level the appetites of the special services need to be controlled. But overall, you have to understand that it is necessary." Putin also touched on the current political crisis in Ukraine and Russia's $15bn loan, given after Kiev abandoned an EU association deal it had planned to sign. "If we really say it's a brotherly nation, then we should of course act like close relatives and help them in this difficult situation," said Putin. He denied that Russia put any pressure on Ukraine not to sign the EU deal: "It's not linked in any way to the Maidan [protests], or tt the EU association, we just see that Ukraine is in a difficult position and we need to help it." Over the course of the press conference, Putin cracked a number of jokes, promised to solve numerous regional issues, and occasionally got angry, such as when a question was asked about the appointment of a homophobic propagandist to run the country's biggest news agency. "State news agencies should be run by patriotic people who defend the interests of the Russian Federation," he said. After four hours and four minutes, however, he was still not finished. When journalists surrounded him on his way to the exit and asked about Khodorkovsky, he dropped the biggest news bombshell of the afternoon, despite not mentioning a pardon when asked about the jailed tycoon during the session itself.
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