Hillary Clinton Slams Russia for Attempting to rebuild the Soviet Union

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Thursday about a new effort by oppressive governments to "re-Sovietize" much of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, taking particular aim at Russia for its crackdown on democracy and human rights groups just hours ahead of critical talks with that country's foreign minister.

Clinton's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will focus on the violence in Syria. They'll be joined in Ireland's capital by the U.N. mediator for the Arab country, Lakhdar Brahimi, in a three-way attempt to breathe new life into diplomatic efforts to stem the violence.

However, speaking to a group of lawyers and civil society advocates on the sidelines of an international human rights conference, Clinton took aim at what she described as a new wave of repressive tactics and laws aimed at criminalizing U.S. outreach efforts. The trends are indicative of a larger reversal of freedoms for citizens of Russia, Belarus, Turkmenistan and other countries that emerged from the breakup of the Soviet Union two decades ago.

"There is a move to re-Sovietize the region," Clinton lamented.



Read more: [link to www.montrealgazette.com]