MOSCOW, June 1 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. congressman Henry J. Hyde does not back proposals to expel Russia from G8 in connection with the nine-year sentence to former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky. I do not share the opinion that Russia should be expelled from G8, Hyde, the chairman of the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress, said on Wednesday.
Thomas Lantos, a member of the Committee on International Relations, submitted a resolution on Russia's expulsion from G8 to the U.S. Congress.
We have different views of this problem, although Lantos is a bright personality, Hyde said.
He refused to comment on the Khodorkovsky sentence being unaware of the facts, details and evidence of this case.
I do not have enough information to make conclusions, only a general idea, the congressman said.
Lantos told journalists in Moscow on Tuesday that U.S. senators intended to submit a resolution on Russia's expulsion from G8 following the sentence in the trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business associates Platon Lebedev and Andrei Krainov.
On Tuesday, the Meshchansky Court in Moscow sentenced Khodorkovsky and Lebedev to nine years in prison each. Krainov got a suspended 5-year sentence.
Lantos arrived in Moscow on Tuesday and came to the Meshchansky Court after the verdict was finally read.
Some time ago Lantos already proposed a similar resolution. According to him, Russia should not participate in G8 sessions until freedom of speech and human rights are restored in the country.
