David Cameron: I personally raised gay rights with Vladimir Putin
David Cameron has said that he has personally raised Russia’s poor record on gay rights with Vladimir Putin.
The PM said that he raised the country’s anti-gay laws during negotiations with the Russian President.
He told Attitude: “We raise these issues with every country, and I personally remember raising it in the middle of the night in a meeting with Vladimir Putin, at about three in the morning at the G20 he was chairing.
“So we don’t hold back. We recognise that some countries take a radically different approach, but we should tell them why we think we’ve got the right one.”
At the time, the PM tweeted: “2am meeting with President Putin. A candid conversation on #Syria. I also raised concerns about gay rights.”
Number 10 described Mr Putin’s responses as “evasive” and the meeting reflecting their “strong differences”.
In the same interview, David Cameron said he was “not convinced” by Labour’s plans to introduce an LGBT rights envoy – despite Barack Obama already appointing one in the US.
Mr Cameron said all ministers should raise gay rights issues, claiming the government shouldn’t “farm it off” to a single person.
