U.S. Quits Russia Bilateral Civil-Society Group Over Crackdown
This article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. is quitting a working group on civil society with Russia after the Kremlin increased limitations for non-government organizations’ activities.
The working group is no longer an appropriate or effective forum for promoting the expansion and strengthening of civil society because the Russian government has taken actions aimed against civil society, said Thomas O. Melia, a U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state who follows human-rights issues in Europe, Russia and the Middle East, according to the Interfax news service. The U.S. embassy in Moscow confirmed the report.