From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
US opposes Russian nominee to head Interpol
The White House says the US is opposing the Russian nominee to lead the international police organization Interpol, citing Russian “abuses.”
National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis says the US “strongly endorses” Interpol’s current interim president, South Korea’s Kim Jong Yang, to hold the post permanently. He is running against Interpol vice president Alexander Prokopchuk, a general in the Russian Interior Ministry.
Marquis is outlining the US opposition to Prokopchuk in a tweet, saying “the Russian government abuses INTERPOL’s processes to harass its political opponents.”
Prominent Kremlin critics have raised alarm that the Russian official is close to President Vladimir Putin, and have pointed to Russian attempts to use Interpol to pursue opponents of Putin’s government.
Interpol’s general assembly is expected to elect its new president tomorrow in Dubai.
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.