Putin suggests more opposition parties will be allowed

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin suggested on Thursday that legislation would be loosened to allow registration for smaller opposition parties that have been shut out of elections in recent years.

"Well, we will register them, probably, we'll see. We will need to change the legislation somehow. I repeat: We can liberalize, we can move in this direction," Putin said during his annual call-in show.

He was responding to a questioner who said no real opposition was allowed in the country and asked why the People's Freedom Party, co-led by former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, had been denied registration.

People's Freedom Party leaders have been among the organizers of protests following a December 4 parliamentary election.

(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; editing by Steve Gutterman)