Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected criticism on Tuesday that his country was sacrificing democracy in the fight against terrorism and urged Europe to take steps to avoid becoming a haven for terrorists. Speaking after a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency, Lavrov said he was concerned that suspected terrorists were being allowed to move freely in Europe. Lavrov said some nations in the bloc were giving terrorists a podium to voice their views and to find allies and raise cash. "If this is not the support of terrorism then I understand nothing in this life," Lavrov told a news conference. "That is why that in the process of protecting human rights, we cannot allow those who, at the very least, are under strong suspicion of being connected to terrorism to run loose in Europe," he said.
Bot said he and Lavrov shared similar views on how terrorism should be fought and said Russia and the EU were taking steps to better coordinate their efforts, adding that EU anti-terrorism coordinator Gijs de Vries would visit Moscow. However, Bot published an article in several European newspapers on Tuesday in which he noted fears among EU leaders that Russia was backsliding on democratic freedoms in the wake of a string of deadly attacks in August and September. |