No plans to restore Soviet Union, Russian PM says

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday Russia has no plans to restore the Soviet Union, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Medvedev said in an interview with TV channel CNBC that some countries used the myth about rebuilding the former Soviet Union "as a way of consolidating elites".

"Regrettably for some countries including small ones, this is simply a way of consolidating elites. We all remember how it works: the Russians are coming so we must unite and under this banner hold parliamentary elections. Well, if they find this helpful, let them have fun.

"It is impossible to restore what is gone. The world has changed since then and the Soviet Union no longer exists. We have the Russian Federation which is based on a constitution adopted by our people," said the Prime Minister.

Medvedev said the constitution proclaims the same values accepted by the majority of humankind notably the supremacy of human rights, democracy, protection of private property, market-based development and so forth.

"I won't list all of them because these are universal values -- there is no returning to the past," he added.