Part four of Reuters interview with Medvedev

Following is the fourth and final part of translated excerpts from Reuters interview with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, conducted earlier this week at the Kremlin:

REUTERS: State control over media has been a feature of Putin's presidency. Will you continue this course or bring about changes? Will independent TV channels emerge in Russia?

MEDVEDEV: Firstly, I cannot agree with you that this was some kind of typical feature of my predecessor's presidency or of someone else who has held this post in Russian lately. We have no special controls on media which are different from those forms of control which exist in other countries.

As far as media is concerned, I had a chance to say this more than once that electronic media, print media and the so-called new media like Internet are absolutely free.

Of course, their editorial policy is decided by their owners. If it is about privately-owned media, they (owners) decide the policy. State-run channels have appropriate editorial councils.

But I cannot believe that these editorial councils, these management bodies conduct any specific policy. I believe we have an absolutely mature, modern television, which shows life in Russia in all its diversity, shows all political figures present on the current Russian political scene, shows problems and achievements.

In this sense - I have said this and am ready to say this to you - I believe our television is pretty mature and of good quality. I find it interesting to watch it. I think a considerable amount of people agree with me.

But those who do not like, say, some specific programmes or channels -- thank God we are living in a free society -- can switch to other channels, can view foreign channels, private channels, can open a newspaper, get onto the Internet and get whatever they wish. There are not today, have not been in the past and will never be problems of closedness of information in Russia. You may have no doubts about this.

Every country has its political losers who complain there is no free media because they aren't on television every day. But that is their problem, not a problem for the media.