Anatoly Antonov
Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov responded to US claims on human rights. The text of his speech at the Cosmos-Club discussion club is published on the embassy's website.
Russia rejects US human rights claims, he said.
“We consider the claims on human rights issues to be especially unacceptable. No one has the right to teach us how to live, ”Antonov explained.
According to him, Russia considers the US accusations of “the use of chemical weapons against Alexei Navalny” (the founder of the Anti-Corruption Fund included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent ) groundless. “At the same time, any of our counterarguments, requests for obtaining factual information are swept aside without a clear explanation. Then the American authorities, without bothering to present evidence, introduce new sanctions against Russia, ”he added.
Antonov noted that Russia considers absurd calls for the “release” of Navalny to be categorically unacceptable. In international practice, this is called “interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state,” the Russian ambassador recalled.
On March 2, the EU imposed sanctions on “high-ranking officials” of Russia over the situation around Alexei Navalny. In particular, the chairman of the Investigative Committee (IC) of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, director of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Alexander Kalashnikov, head of the Russian Guard Viktor Zolotov, and Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov were included in the sanctions list. They are banned from entering the EU countries, and they will not be able to keep funds in banks in EU countries.
At the same time, the United States published a list of Russians who fell under the sanctions. Among them are FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, Head of the Federal Penitentiary Service Alexander Kalashnikov, Deputy Defense Ministers Pavel Popov and Alexei Krivoruchko, Head of the Kremlin's Internal Policy Department Andrei Yarin and others. In addition to them, the 27th Scientific Center of the Ministry of Defense, the 33rd Central Scientific Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense and the Scientific Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GosNIIOKhT) fell under the sanctions.
Later, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that a symmetrical response to new sanctions would soon follow.
