HILLARY CLINTON CRITICIZES KREMLIN FOR UNRESOLVED MURDERS

Tert.am
13:39 08.10.09

Hillary Clinton, set to make her first visit to Moscow next week as
US secretary of state, on Wednesday criticized Russia for its failure
to bring to justice the killers of journalists and rights activists,
reports Associated French Press (AFP).

The State Department said Clinton, who issued the critical statement
on the third anniversary of the unsolved slaying of Russian journalist
Anna Politkovskaya, would raise US concerns about such violence with
her Russian interlocutors.

"The failure to bring to justice the killers of these journalists
undermines efforts to strengthen the rule of law, improve government
accountability, and combat corruption," Clinton said.

Her spokesperson Ian Kelly told reporters that Clinton would visit
Russia on October 13 and 14, with talks planned in Moscow with her
Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and probably President Dmitry
Medvedev.

Philip Crowley, assistant secretary of state for public affairs,
expected Clinton to discuss human rights during her trip in addition
to the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea, US-Russian nuclear
arms reductions, missile defense, and energy issues.

"The secretary… will talk about human rights, the environment
in Russia… our ongoing concern about violence against activists,
our ongoing concern about intimidation of the news media," Crowley
told reporters.