Russia liberal ex-PM calls probe political pressure

MOSCOW, Feb 26 (Reuters) Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, now an opponent of Kremlin policies, said on Friday he was the target of political pressure after prosecutors questioned him as a witness in a theft investigation.

''It is a great pity that the authority that is supposed to make sure the law is abided by in the country is turning into a political tool,'' he said, arriving at the prosecutor-general's office.

''This is political pressure on public opinion, an attempt to encourage a feeling in society that someone is to blame, that there is no smoke without fire,'' Interfax news agency quoted Kasyanov as saying.

Kasyanov has said he will run on an opposition ticket in the March 2008 presidential elections to elect a successor to President Vladimir Putin, who is to step down after two terms in office.

The Kremlin is expected to field in that vote a favoured candidate endorsed by Putin -- making his election a near-certainty.

Russian liberals complain the Kremlin, keen to assure a smooth transition of power to the preferred successor, is doing its utmost to sideline any challengers.

Kasyanov's aides said last week that prosecutors had summoned him for questioning as part of a probe into the alleged misuse of budget funds by former deputy finance minister Andrei Vavilov.

At the time of the alleged crime in the 1990s, Kasyanov was also a deputy finance minister.

The Prosecutor General's office declined to comment on the questioning of Kasyanov today.

Kasyanov, dismissed by Putin as prime minister in 2004, is trying to consolidate Russia's weak and fractured liberal opposition around his presidential bid.

REUTERS PB KN1608