Clinton raps Russia over rights on "reset" trip

By Jeff Mason and Conor Sweeney

MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Russia on Wednesday to uphold human rights, voicing concern at recent attacks on activists and reporters willing to challenge the Kremlin.

On the second day of her Moscow visit, at the end of a European tour, Clinton told an audience of students that Russia must defend freedom.

"People must be free to take unpopular positions, disagree with conventional wisdom, know they are safe to peacefully challenge accepted practice and authority," she said during a question and answer session at Moscow State University.

"That's why attacks on journalists and human rights defenders here in Russia is such a great concern because it is a threat to progress."

As Clinton was speaking, Russian opposition lawmakers walked out of parliament in protest at regional elections on Sunday in which the ruling United Russia party won crushing victories across the country in disputed circumstances.

Some opposition politicians said they would boycott parliament until President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to meet them. There was no immediate comment from Clinton or her officials on the walkout.

LIVING IN THE PAST

"We have people in our government and you have people in your government who are still living in the past," Clinton said.

"They do not believe that the United States and Russia can cooperate to this extent. They do not trust each other. And we have to prove them wrong. That is our goal. Our goal is to be as cooperative as we can."

Clinton took questions from the students for 33 minutes after a 10-minute speech.

She was asked about nuclear weapons, her favourite books -- one of which she said was Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov -- "soft power" and last year's war in Georgia, which dragged U.S.-Russian relations to a Cold War low.

The students were broadly positive about her speech, which they said was a polished performance.

"I disagreed with the policies of George Bush but, with the coming of Barack Obama, I think the policy has begun to improve and that also the Russia-USA relationship will improve," said Valentina Mikhailova, an 18-year-old student.

Goaded by anti-Americanism in state-controlled media in recent years, polls show that many Russians still have a negative view of the United States despite Obama's officially proclaimed "reset" in relations.

Clinton is finishing a European trip that has included stops in Zurich, London and Belfast. Her trip to Russia includes a visit to the Republic of Tatarstan in central Russia for a discussion with local leaders.

At talks with Medvedev on Tuesday, Clinton failed to secure support for tougher sanctions on Iran despite Obama's decision to scrap Bush-era plans for a missile shield in central Europe -- a concession to Russian concerns which Washington had hoped might spur Moscow to back its position on Iran.

Clinton had wished to meet Russia's key decision maker, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, but he was on an official visit in China during her time in Moscow.

"I would have enjoyed meeting with Prime Minister Putin and we certainly had intended to do so but our schedules didn't allow us, so I am looking forward to seeing him on a future date," she told Ekho Moskvy radio.

(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)