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Follow the link to learn moreU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with veteran of the Russian human rights movement, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseyeva, 88, in Moscow on Dec. 15.
"I was invited alone. The meeting took place at the Spaso House in the afternoon [on Dec. 15], it lasted 40-45 minutes," Alekseyeva told Interfax after the meeting.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Tefft also attended the meeting, she said.
"Kerry asked the general question about what is happening in Russia. He asked how painful the law on foreign agents is for our civil society," Alekseyeva said.
The Moscow Helsinki Group head said that at the meeting with Kerry she has repeated her criticizing stance regarding the law on foreign agents.
"To the question about Russia I replied that I previously believed that we, Russia, would become a democratic, rule-of-law state and would join a family of European peoples quite quickly. But now I have changed my opinion that this will certainly happen, but not so quickly," she said.
Kerry: thank you to the hard-working staff at @USEmbRu. pic.twitter.com/ZTOuSs0b7g
— Will Stevens (@WBStevens) December 15, 2015 
