MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, Muiznieks said that he would not visit Russia later in the month citing "unacceptable restrictions" imposed by local authorities on the program of his visit. He added that the term of his visit was restricted to some 48 hours with only one full working day.
"It was with great surprise that we learned that the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, Muiznieks, was canceling his visit to Russia. We think that it is only possible to cancel an arranged visit, while no arrangement was made and we only discussed the mechanisms of the commissioner's possible trip to Russia," the ministry said in a statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry added that it is nevertheless ready to continue discussions with the commissioner on his possible visit in case Muiznieks adheres to the non-politicized approach.
