ST. PETERSBURG, June 4. /TASS/. Double standards are being applied during assessment of riot control in Russia, Europe, the US and Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin opined Friday, adding that this issue is being used as an instrument of political fight.
"There are a lot of internal problems in Belarus, for example. And we would like to take a neutral stance, as all this is the Belarusian people’s business. But, in Belarus, it is all being assessed in one light, in one key; and same things in the US are being assessed in another one. These double standards are what we must get rid of," Putin said.
"Or, for example, they say that the law enforcement in Russia behaves too brutally during various street rallies. And is it normal that, in European countries, people are being shot at with rubber bullets, water cannons are being used, as well as tear gas?" Putin continued.
He disclosed that he discussed protests in Belarus with one of his "colleagues, partners," asking him about using special riot control equipment in other countries.
"And he answers: ‘But we are a democratic country’," the president recalled. "You see, that’s ridiculous. A rubber bullet takes out a person’s eye. But the victim must be told: ‘Come now, it’s okay, this is a democratic rubber bullet. Bear with us."
"People don’t feel better because of this, right?" Putin noted.
According to the Russian leader, this matter requires "common standards, approaches, assessments, uniformly understood."
"Could this be done? In my opinion, very unlikely. I mean that all this is being used as an instrument of political struggle. But we should aspire that," Putin concluded.