MOSCOW, November 10 (RIA Novosti) - Gays are not discriminated against in Russia, so they have no grounds to ask the Netherlands for asylum over that, the Dutch foreign minister said Sunday.
Earlier some media distributed Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans’ statement in which he allegedly said that the Russian law banning homosexual propaganda among minors violates the rights of sexual minorities and may push Amsterdam to grant such people asylum.
“First of all, I’ve never said this,” Timmermans told RIA Novosti in an interview.
“I answered a parliamentary request in written form," he said. "In my reply, I spoke generally, without referring to Russia in particular, that in case homosexuals are… persecuted they may ask the Netherlands for asylum,” the minister said.
“As of today, people of non-traditional sexual orientation are not persecuted in Russia, so there are no grounds to grant them asylum in the Netherlands,” Timmermans said.
He thanked RIA Novosti for giving him a chance to clarify the situation.
Russia recently adopted an anti-gay propaganda law. The Kremlin maintains the legislation is aimed solely at protecting children and does not discriminate against homosexuals or prevent adults from making their own sexual choices. Critics insist the law has fueled a wider crackdown on homosexuality in Russian society.
Relations between Russia and the Netherlands have soured over a few issues recently, including the arrest of a Russian diplomat in The Hague and Russia's seizure of a Dutch-registered Greenpeace icebreaker.
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