Rice to discuss democracy with Russian groups
The US secretary of state will discuss human rights issues with Russian non-governmental organisations today
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Saturday, 13, Oct 2007 10:43
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice will meet human rights organisations in Russia today to discuss the country's internal situation.
In the past, the US has urged Russia to improve its human rights record and to hasten measures to democratise the political system. Analysts have said that the meeting is likely to raise eyebrows in the Russian administration who could view the discussions as interference in private affairs.
Speaking about the meetings in a joint press conference with Russian officials, Ms Rice said she had spoken about human rights issues on every visit to Russia.
"I will indeed speak with members of civil society about some of the concerns we have. And I will raise and have raised on many occasions such concerns with my Russian colleagues, indeed sometimes in great detail," she added.
The current talks between the two former cold war rivals also covered the controversial issue of the deployment of American missile defence systems in the former communist countries of Poland and the Czech Republic.
In the press conference, both sides fundamental disagreements about the plans existed. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who has called for the US to "freeze" the proposed deployments, told reporters that the system was a potential threat to his country
"There is a potential threat for us here. And we, as our president numerously said, as well as other governmental representatives, will have to take some measures to neutralise this threat. We would prefer to avoid such a scenario."
The US insists that the early warning radar system in the Czech Republic and interceptor rocket systems in Poland would be used to counter the threat posed by "rogue states" such as Iran and not Russia.
Differences between the two sides were also apparent on the issue of Iran's nuclear programme with Mr Lavrov warning the US of a unilateralist approach.
The Russian foreign minister said: "It is important to preserve the unity of the international community and to avoid parallel unilateral actions."
He also called for a multilateral effort to solve the issue, adding that Russian president Vladimir Putin would speak to the Iranian president about the "collective will of the six parties and the UN security council" during his visit to Iran.