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Brussels Raises Election Concerns At Russia Summit

December 15, 2011

by Rikard Jozwiak

BRUSSELS -- The European Union used a summit with Russia today to highlight concerns over claims of massive fraud during this month's Russian parliamentary elections.

Russia's December 4 State Duma elections and their aftermath -- including the detention of demonstrators -- were not officially on the agenda of the summit, which otherwise focused on economic and visa liberalization issues.

But the EU made clear in the run-up that it would raise its worries with Dmitry Medvedev during his last summit with the bloc as Russia's president.

EU President Herman Van Rompuy told a news conference after the summit that the EU was concerned about election monitors' reports of irregularities and lack of fairness in the December 4 vote, and about the detention of protesters.

Tens of thousands of Russians protested in Moscow on December 10 and on previous days calling for the election to be rerun after widespread allegations the vote was rigged to favor the ruling United Russia party.

Medvedev has promised an inquiry into the events surrounding the election, which gave United Russia just under 50 percent of the vote. Van Rompuy's comments echo those of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

"The prior exclusion of various opposition parties has been confirmed as a key flaw of those elections," she told the European Parliament on December 13. "In addition, we have seen reports about procedural violations, such a lack of media impartiality, and the lack of a clear separation between political party and state."

Meanwhile, Medvedev said at today's news conference that Russia is "ready to invest" in a rescue of the eurozone managed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but made no reference to any contribution.

However, on the sidelines of the summit, Kremlin economic aide Arkady Dvorkovich reiterated a promise by Russia to provide at least $10 billion in funds for the eurozone via the IMF.

The EU is Moscow's biggest trade partner, with trade totaling $286 billion between January and September of this year. The 27-member bloc is also the largest consumer of Russian gas.

With agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/eu_russia_summit_medvedev_election_fraud_talks/24422533.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.