"We are fully aware that it takes time to develop democracy in the European sense of the word," said Diogo Freitas do Amaral, the chairman-in-office of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. He is also foreign minister of Portugal, which holds the six-month CE rotating chairmanship until November.
He added in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti, "since Russia is in the Council of Europe, it meets the norms and requirements of the organization."
However, he said there were "sensitive" areas in the Council of Europe's relations with Russia: "democracy, human rights and the supremacy of the law."
Amaral said his country had no special program for dealing with these problems. According to him, the Council of Europe is rather designed to explain some positions.
Yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov invited Amaral to visit Russia in late September.
"I accepted the invitation," said Amaral. "I would very much like to see Moscow."
Amaral said Portugal's chairmanship of the Council of Europe saw cultural issues as a priority. He said he was sure that in this area there would be a great deal to see in the Russian capital.
