Rice Urges Russia To Strengthen Independent Political Institutions

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on the Russian government Monday to strengthen the independence of its courts, press and parliament. <br/><br/>Rice said that democratic reforms

Monday, October 22nd 2007, 10:31 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on the Russian government Monday to strengthen the independence of its courts, press and parliament.

Rice said that democratic reforms would strengthen Russia and improve relations with the United States.

``We want Russia to be strong_ strong in 21st-century terms, not just with a strong independent center, but with strong independent institutions, an independent judiciary and legislature and independent civil society with a free media and vibrant non-governmental sector,'' she said.

The speech, at the opening of a conference on U.S.-Soviet history during part of the Cold War, comes at a time of heightened U.S.-Russian tensions and concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin is consolidating power in the central government. Russia has objected to U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe and has bristled over U.S. criticisms of its human rights record.

But Rice, who has an academic background in Soviet studies, rejected comparisons between today's relations and those of the Cold War.

``I visited the Soviet Union. I studied in the Soviet Union, and I will tell you that Russia is not the Soviet Union,'' she said.