53407152.

doc Page 1 of 2

Russia Accuses US of Double Standards

on Rights
By Michael Heath

March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Russia said the U.S. State Department's ``latest opus'' on
human rights reflects the double standards of a country that uses the issue as a
foreign policy tool while failing to examine its own actions.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement it rejects criticism of Russia's human rights
record from a country that ``has in effect legalized torture, uses capital punishment
on minors and denies responsibility for war crimes and human rights violations in Iraq
and Afghanistan.''
The U.S. report, published two days ago, said President Vladimir Putin's centralization
of power in the Kremlin, selective law enforcement and restrictions on aid groups and
the media have eroded government accountability. The Foreign Ministry called it ``a
hackneyed set of claims.''
Ties between the U.S. and Russia have been strained over the past year by the
possible further expansion of NATO into former Soviet republics, American plans to
set up missile shield sites in Poland and the Czech Republic and President George W.
Bush's support for Kosovo's independence.
The government in Moscow says the moves are part of an effort to isolate Russia and
says the U.S. has violated international law when it suits American interests.
Moscow Talks
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will
visit Moscow on March 17-18 for talks on missile defense, non-proliferation and
counter- terrorism, the White House said yesterday.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush and Putin agreed on the meeting
in a telephone conversation last week.
Russia has accused the U.S. of sponsoring popular uprisings against flawed elections
in the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine to install pro-American leaders.
Both countries want to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
``The U.S. uses the struggle to spread democracy and the defense of human rights
as a cover'' to advance its interests, the ministry said in the statement issued late
yesterday.
Putin, in a May 9, 2007, speech in Red Square marking the Soviet victory over Nazi
Germany, suggested U.S. foreign policy resembled that of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.
The president has warned western countries not to interfere in Russia's affairs and
demanded it be treated as an equal. The Foreign Ministry echoed that sentiment,
criticizing what it called the ``mentorish tone'' of the State Department report.
The ministry said the report was prejudiced, mistaken, poorly sourced and
counterproductive.
53407152.doc Page 2 of 2

``Many passages are copied from previous reports; the impression is that the State
Department simply collected facts to suit the conclusions formulated in advance,'' it
said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at
mheath1@bloomberg.net