The dictatorship of "freedom": Russia pointed to the "chronic problems" of the West against the background of the US "summit for democracy"

The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the so-called summit for democracy, which will be held on December 9-10 via videoconference.

The organizer of the event is the authorities of the United States.

“The organizers and enthusiasts of this strange event are claiming leadership in promoting democracy and human rights worldwide. However, the “track record” and reputation of the United States of America, Great Britain, and the countries - members of the European Union in terms of ensuring democratic rights and freedoms at home, as well as in the international arena, are, to put it mildly, far from ideal. The facts indicate that the United States and its allies cannot and should not claim to be a “beacon” of democracy, as they themselves have chronic problems in the field of freedom of speech, electoral system, corruption and human rights, ”the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. published on the website of the department.

The list of invited participants, which is published on the website of the American State Department, includes more than 100 states.

Among them are the traditional US allies in NATO, Japan, South Korea, Australia, post-Soviet countries, Africa, Asia and South America.

Representatives of the Russian Federation and China were not invited to the summit.

Commenting on the earlier upcoming "Summit for Democracy" in a joint article for The National Interest, the Ambassadors of Russia and China to the United States Anatoly Antonov and Qin Gan stressed that there is only "one set of rules in the world, and these are the basic rules of regulation of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter ”.

The holding of a "summit for democracy" was announced on the website of the State Department.

The preamble quoted the words of US President Joseph Biden from February this year: “Democracy does not arise by chance.

We must protect it, fight for it, strengthen it, renew it. "

According to the US Foreign Office, the "Summit for Democracy" will give the United States "an opportunity to listen, learn and interact with a wide range of different actors, whose support and commitment are key to global democratic renewal."

“The summit will also demonstrate one of the unique virtues of democracy: the ability to recognize our imperfections and openly and transparently deal with them so that we can, as the US Constitution says,“ form a better union, ”the State Department stressed.

"Under hypocritical ideas"

Speaking at a meeting with participants in the annual scientific and educational program of the Foundation for Public Diplomacy.

A.M.

Gorchakov's "Dialogue for the Future", Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that "the summit for democracy" raises "a huge number of questions."

As noted by the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the event presupposes the right of Washington to determine the presence or absence of democracy.

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

• RIA News

• © Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

“Therefore, before teaching others how to organize their democracy, let's talk about democracy in international relations.

The West does not accept it and replaces it with its own dictate, ”Lavrov said.

In turn, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova on the air of the YouTube channel "Solovyov Live" caught the United States and its allies in hypocrisy.

“The very idea (of the summit. -

) is dangerous not only because of its hypocrisy, because they cannot speak and teach democracy, freedom and human rights of the country, which not only do not respect them, but generally do not put (them. -

) in their daily life, "Zakharova noted.

As the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry believes, “under hypocritical ideas” the organizers of the summit are again trying to divide the world community, divide the world into “us” and “foes”, and put together “another pro-Western coalition”.

Along with this, the message of the Russian Foreign Ministry states that the West is violating the principles of freedom of speech and opinion.

In particular, as the diplomats pointed out, the editorial policy of the largest Western media is de facto controlled by the party and corporate elites, and to suppress dissent, "well-oiled mechanisms of censorship, self-censorship and removal of unwanted accounts and content from digital platforms" are used.

“Social networks controlled by American companies are widely used for disinformation, propaganda and manipulation of public opinion.

Mass electronic surveillance by special services and cooperating IT corporations has become a reality in the daily life of citizens of Western states, ”the Foreign Ministry's website says.

The Russian Foreign Ministry recalled the scandals that rocked the American election campaign in 2020.

In the course of it, there was an artificial "cutting" of constituencies, long-term voting by mail, and the non-admission of observers, especially international ones, to polling stations.

“Serious questions are raised by the ongoing repression of the American authorities against the participants in the protest action near the Capitol on January 6 of this year.

(this year. -

), which the US administration and the media associated with it are openly called "internal terrorists."

Dozens of people who disagreed with the results of the presidential elections received prison sentences disproportionate to their opposition activity, ”the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasizes.

The department also pointed out that the United States, trying to assume the role of "global democratic leader", has been leading the world in terms of the number of prisoners in prisons for many years - more than 2 million. At the same time, Washington continues to keep silent about cases of torture in Guantanamo.

“Before embarking on the 'export of democracy', we urge the North American partners to first settle unresolved problems at home, to try to overcome the deepening split in society on issues of ethics, values, vision of their past and future,” the Russian Foreign Ministry urged.

The United Kingdom also has no right to position itself as a progressive democracy, Russian diplomats said.

They recalled that in Great Britain "there are comfortably organizations professing neo-Nazi ideology, there is an increase in manifestations of racism, discrimination against ethnic and cultural minorities in many spheres of public life."

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the EU is not doing better either.

In particular, the EU authorities consistently ignore the rights and interests of Russian and Russian-speaking residents in the Baltics, Ukraine and Moldova.

In addition, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the daily norm for many EU member states is "administrative suppression of dissent, aggressive implantation of ultraliberal values ​​and practices that destroy the Christian foundations of European civilization."

In general, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, by making military interventions in different countries of the world, the United States and a narrow group of its allies undermined confidence in themselves.

Western methods of forced "democratization" only lead to bloody wars, "generate chaos and devastation," the website of the Russian department emphasizes.

"Trying to assert yourself"

In an interview with RT, professor of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Vinokurov linked the "summit for democracy" with the desire of the United States to "regain the irrevocable halo of freedom and democracy" after the failure of the mission in Afghanistan.

Recall that in almost 20 years of presence, the American army lost more than 2 thousand people, and during the hostilities waged by the United States and its allies, 47 thousand civilians of Afghanistan were killed.

In the spring of 2021, the United States began a hasty withdrawal of troops, which eventually resulted in the rise to power of the Taliban.

According to Vinokurov, American authorities often blatantly ignore internal problems, focusing on "exporting democracy" and threats from Moscow and Beijing.

• US National Guard soldiers and protesters

• Reuters

• © Leah Millis

The Summit for Democracy is an attempt to somehow assert itself, because, in my opinion, the Americans are entangled with their own internal turmoil.

This is a society-destroying BLM movement, a gender policy that has lost its rational meaning and, of course, harsh censorship - just remember how Donald Trump's social media accounts were blocked, "Vinokurov explained.

The expert insists that there is no universal measure of the presence or absence of democracy in the world.

However, Washington, disregarding elementary legal and political science norms, rudely imposes its idea of ​​"democracy".

“Nobody gave the United States the right to divide states into democratic and autocratic.

Such a division of the world community brings an even greater split, exacerbates the situation, interferes with the solution of pressing global issues, "Vinokurov argues.

Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, shares a similar view of the situation with the “summit for democracy”.

He recalled that the Democrats who come to the White House are always trying to promote a "values ​​approach", which boils down to rhetoric in support of freedom of speech.

“By organizing this summit, the United States wants to show that it remains a flagship, a leader in democracy and free speech.

Biden wants to raise relations with allies to a new level, but, as I think, the summit is unlikely to bring any serious practical results to Washington, "Danyuk summed up.