Russia: UK Foreign Office human rights report shows 'enormous hypocrisy' - Zakharova

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday labelled a UK Foreign Office report on human rights as “an example of enormous hypocrisy." Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the “Foreign Office openly asserts nothing less than its intention to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state." She said "they somehow forget that we solve our internal problems in spite of this country’s [UK] enormous efforts to destabilise the situation in our country and specifically in this region."
Zakharova said she saw double-standards at work “regarding Ukraine” where, she said, all “responsibility for the suffering of the residents of its south-eastern part, of course, rests with Russia [according to the UK report]." She added, “there is not a word about the crimes committed by the authorities in Kiev."
Zakharova also commented on the Mayor of Riga Nils Usakovs who could face prosecution over a caricature he posted on social media. In it he mocked a calculation of 300 billion euros by a Latvian government comission that represented the sum the Latvian economy allegedly lost due to what they called the “Soviet occupation." She said “first of all, hold on, Nils! And secondly, next time you should publish caricatures in Charlie Hebdo." Zakharova argued that, by working for that publication, “you will be fully protected and not a single person will say anything to you."
The UK Foreign Office's annual report was released a week ago and claimed there is a deteriorating human rights situation in Russia. The country was designated one of 30 so-called 'Human Rights Priority Countries' alongside China, Egypt, Israel, Venezuela and Uzbekistan.