Russian President Vladimir Putin

REUTERS

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday laws to open up competition in Russia's political system must be implemented with care, suggesting he remains wary about reforms introduced after the largest protests in his 12-year rule.

"It is necessary that the laws which were passed on a legislative level make their way into society correctly, peacefully and in accordance with the letter and spirit of the law," said Putin, speaking to the political parties' parliamentary leaders.

"But in no case (may they) allow any destructive forces to shake up the situation or moreover allow them (to do so) in a destructive-terroristic way."

In April then-president Dmitry Medvedev signed off on a law that eased regulations on the registration of political parties, cutting the required number of members in a party to 500 from the previous 40,000, reports Reuters.

The law was aimed at appeasing demonstrators who had taken to the streets after accusations of voting fraud in a parliamentary election in December which gave the Putin-supported United Russia party a slim parliamentary majority.

Putin said, however, that, "we have to allow all those who want to express their opinions to do so in a legal way and not run around in city squares."