By Country / Russia
Mayors Gather Amid Luzhkov 'Anti-Gay' Controversy
February 27, 2007
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov (file photo) (ITAR-TASS)
The two-day "summit" comes amid controversy over Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov's vow to stop any attempt to hold gay-pride parades in the Russian capital.
Gay-rights groups are appealing to London Mayor Ken Livingstone and the mayors of Paris and Berlin -- who are both openly homosexual -- to protest the Moscow ban.
Russian activists on February 26 filed a libel suit against Luzhkov for calling such parades "satanic."
Meanwhile, A Russian Orthodox Church official says Western politicians will fail to convince Luzhkov to allow gay-pride parades in the Russian capital.
Metropolitan Kiril, head of external relations for the Moscow Patriarchate, said Luzhkov has "clear and strong" views on the issue.
(paris.fr, ITAR-TASS, Interfax)