Current Affairs

President Obama set to meet Russian gay rights activist today

Sep 06 2013
Written by Daniel Carter

US President Barack Obama is today set to meet Russian LGBT activist while attending the G20 summit that is currently taking place in Russia.

Amid tentative talks over the situation in Syria the issue of gay rights has also been an important issue for the G20 leaders with Putin having signed into a law banning the positive promotion of “non traditional” relationships to minors.

Mr Obama has previously said that he has no patience for countries that violate gay rights and has said that those that discriminate “you are violating the basic morality that I think should transcend every country.”

The US President has previously cancelled with Russia citing LGBT rights as one of the reasons for cancelling such a meeting.

Mr Obama is set to meet the leaders of various gay rights groups in Russia to discuss the tightening of media freedoms and freedom of expression for LGBT individuals.

Yesterday it was revealed that a Russian lawmakers had submitted to the Russian Parliament a bill that would make homosexuality grounds for gay and lesbian parents to have their children taken away from them.

In the early hours of this morning British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted to say that he had discussed the issue of gay rights with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The issue of LGBT rights has garnered significant international attention with the Winter Olympics set to take place in Russia early next year. President Putin has sought to reassure critics by claiming that Russia does not discriminate and the laws shall not interfere with the Games, this is despite the Interior Ministry warning that it shall enforce the gay propaganda law while the Games take place.