RUSSIA:Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has responded to recent criticism of his county's democratic standards, claiming there was a media bias in the West intent on punishing his country and using the Litvinenko affair as a convenient opportunity.
At his annual end of year press conference, Mr Lavrov appeared to react directly to some of the most scathing criticism issued earlier this week by Finnish prime minister Matti Vanhanen, the outgoing holder of the EU's rotating presidency.
The fear of a resurgent Russia was the real motive behind much of the recent focus on his country's alleged failings, insisted Mr Lavrov. "We realise that a quick revival of Russia as a leading power has come as a surprise - an unpleasant surprise for some," he said.
He repeated the Kremlin's accusation of an anti-Russian bias in the western media's coverage of the poisoning of ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko in London. Collectively, the media had sought "to paint a black image" of how his country functions, he claimed.
Covering a wide array of issues, from challenging the effectiveness of UN sanctions against Iran to pleading for the lives of Bulgarian medics facing the death sentence in Libya, Mr Lavrov emphasised his country's resurgent global power.
Apart from the Litvinenko poisoning, relations with the West have soured over energy supplies, Russia's relations with neighbouring countries like Georgia and the unsolved murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
The confident defence of Russia's own policies contrasts with the criticism from Mr Vanhanen, who said he wanted to see more commitment to democracy, the rule of law and the market economy from the Russian authorities. Mr Vanhanen attacked Russia's sometime ally, Belarus, as a black hole on the face of European democracy.
Russia's poor relations with Georgia are expected to plunge again after it was told yesterday it faces the same gas export prices as western Europe of around $235 (€178) per thousand cubic metres. Other neighbouring countries continue to receive it from Russia at one-quarter of the same price, at around $65.