MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th March, 2021) The German government's Coordinator for Inter-Societal Cooperation with Russia, Central Asia, and the Eastern Partnership Countries Johann Saathoff received comprehensive explanations from Moscow on Berlin's concerns over the human rights situation in Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
During Saathoff's visit to Russia from February 27-March 3, he held meetings with the head of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Valery Fadeev and the head of the parliamentary group for relations with the German Bundestag Pavel Zavalny. Besides, Saathoff conversed with Mikhail Shvydkoy, the president's special representative for international cultural cooperation.
"We note that during the contacts, Saathoff did not fail to voice the current prevailing attitudes in Germany with regard to Russia, which consist in an effort to present our country with a set of routine claims on problematic subjects of bilateral relations, and to share German 'concerns' about the fate of civil society in Russia. The Russian side provided detailed and comprehensive explanations," the ministry said.
In particular, it noted, the discussions touched upon the activities of the St. Petersburg Dialogue Forum, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries, in the wake of holding the Year of Germany in Russia in 2020-2021, as well as the upcoming joint exhibition projects.
