Medvedev: I’ll Take Care of Human Rights

This bit is good for a chuckle – but at least the president is good enough to admit that Russia has a big human rights problem.  From ITAR-TASS:

Russia is ready to discuss the observance of human rights with other countries as well as with nongovernmental organizations, but it will be settling these problems on its own, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday.

“I have told Mr. Prime Minister that we are open for discussing these issues with representatives of the state as well as representatives of the civil society and nongovernmental organizations,” the Russian president said at a news conference after Russian-Danish talks in Copenhagen. “At the same time these are our problems and we will be settling them independently, on our own,” he stressed.

“We don’t need any support from outside on that matter,” he added. “We must sort it out ourselves,” he said. “Such issues cannot mar the atmosphere (of the state visit) in any way, as these are normal working issues. We indeed always discuss them,” Medvedev said.