(Daily Times) - The United States and the European Union have voiced concern over recent developments in Russia, in their final declaration published after a summit here.
The US and EU administrations, meeting less than a month before a G8 meeting of global powers which Russia will host in Saint Petersburg, criticised what they said was a degradation of civil liberties in Russia, reports Trend.
They also noted that Russias international policies too often ran contrary to theirs, citing the debate over sanctions against Iran, the question of dealing with the radical ruling Hamas movement in the Palestinian territories and Russian President Vladimir Putins support for Belaruss authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko We attach great importance to our relationship with Russia and are pursuing deeper cooperation on a range of issues of common interest, including some important foreign policy issues, non-proliferation and counterterrorism, said the text adopted during a visit here Wednesday by US President George W Bush.
The western nations will continue to collaborate with Moscow on Iran and the Middle East.