Brussels, 15/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - President of the Russian Federation Dmitri Medvedev said on Thursday 15 December that the resolution adopted the previous day by the European Parliament (EP) calling for the general elections held in Russia on 4 December to be declared void (see EUROPE 10516), “is of absolutely no significance” to him. When asked during the EU-Russia summit press conference about the resolution, he said he had “no comment” to make. “The European Parliament has no aegis in the elections. It is of no significance whatsoever for me”, he said, making clear that the EP should be more concerned with “resolving Europe's problems which are legion”. He added that “all the parties” in the Russian parliament “had said they did not agree with the European Parliament”.
Council President Herman Van Rompuy said that the EU was “concerned by irregularities and lack of fairness” flagged up in the election and by the detention of demonstrators. He said the EU welcomed Medvedev's “pledge and commitment to investigate in a fair and impartial manner reports about electoral problems”. Van Rompuy said, too, that he EU hoped that Russia cooperates well with the OSCE to ensure smooth monitoring of the presidential elections in March of next year. “Free and fair elections, respect for human rights and the rule of law, freedom of speech and the right of assembly are key for democracies”, he stated. (CG/transl.rt)