18:26, 2 May 2017

Angela Merkel calls on Vladimir Putin to protect minorities' rights

Angela Merkel. Photo Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky

During the talks in Sochi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on the Russian President to secure the observance of the rights of sexual and religious minorities.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 1, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" published the material on mass detentions and killings in Chechnya of men suspected of unconventional sexual orientation.

On April 19, at a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov called the above materials a provocation, and on April 20, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian President, said that the Kremlin trusts the Ramzan Kadyrov's statements.

According to the "Interfax", Angela Merkel has also emphasized that it is important to protect the activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. On April 20, the Supreme Court (SC) of Russia upheld the claims filed by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to liquidate as extremist 396 religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

Angela Merkel has also particularly noted the need to observe the right to public meetings and free activities of NGOs, the "TASS" reports.

Vladimir Putin did not comment on the situation with the gays' rights in Chechnya, the "Russian BBC Service" reports.

On May 2, Angela Merkel arrived in Sochi to have talks with Vladimir Putin. At the Sochi airport, the German Chancellor was met by Veniamin Kondratiev, Governor of the Krasnodar Territory, the "Kuban-24" reports.

The talks took place at the Sochi's residence of Vladimir Putin.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.