Internationale prominenten bepleiten een ander EU-beleid jegens Rusland (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Madeleine Albright, Vaclav Havel, Giuliano Amato and Francis Fukuyama and more than 100 other politicians and intellectuals have written to EU leaders warning that current policy towards Russian is failing.

The public letter, signed by more than 100 European and US public figures, warns heads of state and government of the EU and NATO that the current strategy towards Russia has not stopped democracy from being undermined.

"Russia's democratic institutions have always been weak and fragile, but since becoming president Vladimir Putin has made them even weaker", reads the letter.

The signatories warn Mr Putin has systematically undercut the freedom and independence of the press, arbitrarily imprisoned both real and imagined political rivals, removed legitimate candidates from electoral ballots and weakened Russia's political parties.

"All too often in the past, the West has remained silent and restrained its criticism in the belief that President Putin's steps in the wrong direction were temporary and the hope that Russia would soon return to a democratic and pro-Western path".

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, former Czech President Vaclav Havel and number of MEPs also urge a rethink in the strategy towards Russia.

"We must speak the truth about what is happening in Russia" they say.

The letter comes after moves by President Putin to centralise power following the Beslan tragedy.