Russian Foreign Ministry objects to the export of democracy

According to the Foreign Minister, there is no such thing as a single model of democracy

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has commented on the first results of the Council of Europe Summit in Warsaw. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry touched on issues relating to accusations against Russia, “democracy proliferation”, and relations between Russia and CIS countries.

“We should not allow the legal dividing lines to appear in Europe,” said Mr. Lavrov. He believes the Council of Europe could be a unifying force in the continent otherwise it may turn into the EU's younger brother someday.

Mr. Lavrov believes that “it is not only impossible to introduce democratic values into one society or another, it is also dangerous.” According to Mr. Lavrov, there is no such thing as a single model of democracy, and every democracy in every part of the world has its own specific characteristics, especially in “those countries whose religious traditions differ from Christianity.” He believes prerequisites for democratic changes “should become ripe” within a country.

“We understand why our Western partners show their interests in the CIS countries, it has to do with the threat of terrorism that still remains in Afghanistan and Iraq, it also relates to access to sources of energy,” said Mr. Lavrov. According to  him, it is extremely important that methods for pursuing one's interests in various parts of the world should be understandable, transparent and compliant with the international law. “Our common goal is to start a new process of real trust in relations with one another, we should start explaining our interests in the most detailed and open way,” said he.

Speaking about the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia, Mr. Lavrov said that the Russian side had appreciated a manifest desire of Georgia to remove the bases. On the other hand, the Russian side also hoped to see Georgia taking into account some technical aspects relating to the withdrawal of the Russian troops from that country. Mr. Lavrov expressed his hopes that Russia and Georgia would eventually reach an agreement on the issue.

Answering the question why the countries of the former Soviet Union have recently intensified their verbal attacks on Russia, Mr. Lavrov said that the problem was a reflection of Russia's new financial independence and economic growth. “Somebody seems to dislike the prospects and therefore they want to place irritants around Russia to distract our attention,” said Mr. Lavrov. He singled out the subject of human rights and democratic freedoms. Russia has just begun building a strong state that is capable of providing human rights, equality and freedoms to all its citizens. A group of individuals who took advantage of the privatization time should not be exclusively entitled to the above democratic values, according to Mr. Lavrov. He believes that a new era of “open diplomacy and fair display of one's legal interests” is coming to the world politics.      

On the photo: Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov