Pro-Putin Youth Group Slams U.S. Over Rights

A pro-Kremlin youth group on Thursday attacked a U.S. State Department report cataloguing human rights problems in Russia.

A pro-Kremlin youth group on Thursday attacked a U.S. State Department report cataloguing human rights problems in Russia and said Washington should pay more attention to its failures in Iraq.

Activists from the Nashi youth group, whose leaders say they support all President Vladimir Putin's policies, criticised the U.S. annual human rights report which complained of a slide in democratic rights in Russia.

Over 200 activists protested outside the U.S. embassy in Moscow. "American mothers, stop the fanatics from the State Department," one placard read.

Nashi leader Vasily Yakemenko said the United States was causing bloodshed from Iraq to Afghanistan and warned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice against stirring tensions in Russia.

"If Condoleezza Rice escalates tension here, it's possible there will be a situation where people here could die too," he said, suggesting it could trigger public unrest and bloodshed.

"The U.S. needs to think less about what is happening here and more about what is going on in Iraq," he said.

The Nashi protest coincided with comments by the government and both houses of parliament are expected to debate the U.S. report on Friday, indicating Moscow is sending an orchestrated message of displeasure to Washington.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yakovenko accused the United States of double standards.

"In those countries which follow the U.S. line, the human rights situation is given an extremely positive assessment, while those countries which are not in step with the U.S. are subject to criticism," he said.

"It is not acceptable to use the ideas of democracy as a cover for interfering in a country's internal affairs," he said.

Ties between Washington and Moscow have cooled in recent years over disagreements about the Iraq war, how to deal with Iran, competition for allies in the former Soviet Union and plans for a U.S. missile defence shield in Europe.

Nashi called on the American public to oppose the foreign policy of U.S. President George W. Bush to prevent a war in Iran and further tensions with the Kremlin.