Chossudovsky: CIA's NGOs - the ABC of US foreign policy

Russian opposition leaders and human rights activists pleaded with top US officials to support their plans for political and social change, but the request was apparently given short-shrift by Washington. Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, which obtained fresh files from WikiLeaks, reports that the group was consistently critical of the Kremlin and wanted American help for reform.

Those demands were voiced on a visit to Moscow by Michael McFaul, Special Assistant to The President for National Security Affairs, who met with opposition leaders at the residence of the American envoy to Russia in Moscow. According to the reports, the opposition said: "Washington should pay more attention to significant incidents related to freedom of assembly in Russia. To solve problems in Russia's civic society, parties should sit down at the negotiation table -- both Russian and US governments, and representatives from NGOs." The US response was, "It is up to Russian activists to build up their relations with their administration, without relying on America."

Michel Chossudovsky from the Center for Research on Globalization said it is no surprise that Russian opposition parties come knocking on the door of the US embassy.

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