Lavrov Refers to CoE, Claiming Democracy in Georgia Restricted

Talking to the Russian magazine “Itogi”,  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov referred to the conclusions of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe  (CoE) to support his claim that democracy in Georgia is restricted. He used these findings to illustrate the prejudice of Western insitutions towards Russia.

When responding to a question by the US criticising changes in Russia that call for appointed, rather than elected governors Lavrov said:

“The criticism that I heard revolved around the thesis that direct elections of governors have been cancelled and instead a system of authoritarian appointments was introduced, which, as you know, is not true. For instance, the Venice Commission, working in structures of the Council of Europe, analysed the political reform taking place in Russia… the conclusion is clear: the changes being undertaken are in accordance with the Russian constitution and the principles of federalism.

In addition, for some reason nobody in the West has paid substantial attention to the conclusions of the Venice Commission regarding the serious violations of democratic principles in Georgia. Not so long ago this commission presented a report, after a visit to Georgia by a mission of the Council of Europe, where it expressed serious reservations regarding democratic freedoms, including the freedom of speech, the ensuring of human rights and, specifically, non-implementation of earlier recommendations regarding the restoration of the autonomy of Adjaria, which [the autonomy], according to the Council of Europe, was essentially abolished.”