Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko accused Estonia and Latvia of violating Russian-speakers' rights at a meeting of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg on Thursday.
A large number of Russians living in Estonia and Latvia still lack citizenship and cannot vote in elections, Grushko told the Interfax news agency.
The Council of Europe's high commissioner for human rights, Alvaro Gil-Robles, has noted these violations, he continued, but the organization has not responded.
The deputy foreign minister said the human rights watchdog should pressure authorities in the two Baltic states to speed up the naturalization process and begin a serious dialogue with ethnic minorities.
