MOSCOW, January 27. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia seeks to maintain a constructive dialogue on human rights issues with EU partners, Foreign Ministry Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Supremacy of Law Konstantin Dolgov said.

“Of course, the dialogue should be equal and mutually respectful. We’re ready to find common grounds, which will allow us to promote human rights on the constitutional basis,” the commissioner said.

In addition, the diplomat said no improvements in human rights in the EU countries had been reported in 2013.

“We studied the human rights situation in the EU countries in 2013. We hoped that any improvements would happen. Unfortunately, we couldn’t watch any improvement in this sphere,” the commissioner said, adding “The situation changed for the worse in certain important positions.

 

Foreign Ministry’s report

January 23, Konstantin Dolgov stated at a news conference in Brussels that, in his opinion, the EU does not really monitor the human rights situation within the Union and has no ways of dealing effectively with human rights violations.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry Commissioner for Human Rights presented to journalists the ministry’s report on human rights situation in the EU in 2013. He said no one in the European Union now has a mandate to ensure improvement of the human rights situation in individual countries of the Union, above all in the Baltic States, and this cannot but cause concern, particularly, as the EU presents itself as one of the main supporters of adherence to fundamental democratic values.

Dolgov noted the spread of xenophobia, nationalism, radicalization and discrimination in Europe, and, consequently, the population’s support for far-right parties. He said the Russian Foreign Ministry’s report is an invitation to comprehensive international cooperation, including with the participation of Russia and the European Union, toward improving the human rights situation.