October 2, 2009 By Citizen M

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – October 2, 2009

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TODAY: Russia keeps its voting rights in Council of Europe; Lavrov says Russia wants unbiased discussions about human rights; French Foreign Minister argues Russia flouting ceasefire; Israeli diplomat makes swift exit; UK Foreign Secretary visit to ease tensions?; Scientology 1- Russia nil.

At a meeting with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Sergei Lavrov has asserted that the Kremlin has not avoided discussing human rights issues with other European states, ‘but that dialogue should not be politicized, it should be concrete’.  According to Bloomberg, Kouchner has said that Russia is not honoring the terms of the ‘Sarkozy-Medvedev’ Georgia ceasefire agreement.   Ex-Georgian parliamentary speaker Nino Burjanadze has blamed President Mikheil Saakashvili for last year’s conflict with Russia and has affirmed the necessity for the opposition to ‘save Georgia’.  The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has decided to allow Russia to retain its voting rights in the organization against a motion initiated by Georgia.