MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Human rights situation in Ukraine is on the verge of catastrophe, while the United States and the European Union continue to demonstrate the policy of double standards, Russian Foreign Ministry’s envoy for human rights, democracy and the supremacy of law Konstantin Dolgov told TASS on Monday.
When asked to comment why the West is turning a deaf ear to Moscow’s calls to pay attention to the situation with Russian journalists in Ukraine, the Russian diplomat said that the United States, the European Union and some other Western countries stick to the policy of double standards concerning "the human rights situation in Ukraine in general, which is extremely tense and sometimes even catastrophic, and in what concerns the freedom of the mass media in particular."
"The reactions of Western capitals still features all the signs of double standards, which is categorically unacceptable," Dolgov said. "We shall continue to raise this issue before our partners and relevant international organizations."
Kiev’s policy towards Russian journalists runs counter to Ukraine’s international liabilities, Dolgov went on to say.
"The Kiev authorities continue to demonstrate steps that hamper professional activities of Russian journalists," he said. "Intimidation continues. It is categorically inadmissible."
"We have witnessed a range of examples in the recent days," he noted. "All this runs counter to Ukraine’s international liabilities in the area of the freedom of speech, including those undertaken within the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)."
"We will raise these issues before relevant international organizations, before the OSCE in particular," Dolgov pledged.
"We have repeatedly said that the practice of intimidation, blocking of Russian television channels in Ukraine violates international liabilities," the Russian diplomat underscored. "It must be stopped."