Moscow: The United States and its allies, which face various domestic issues, cannot and should not pretend to be a "beacon of democracy," according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The Western countries face numerous "chronic challenges" in terms of freedom of speech, election administration, corruption, and human rights, according to a statement released by the Ministry on Wednesday in response to the planned US "conference for democracy."
According to sources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called attention to the "hypocrisy" at the heart of the summit, which will take place on December 9-10 at the initiative of the US administration.
"We ask all foreign partners not to engage in 'democratisation,' not to build new dividing lines, but to return to the respect of international law and to recognise in practise the concept of sovereign equality of nations, as inscribed in the United Nations Charter," it said. The so-called meeting has been criticised by Russian officials and academics as "chimerical" and primarily useful to US geopolitical goals.
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