After Detentions, Top EU Diplomat Tells Kazakhstan To 'Improve Human Rights Standards'

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has told RFE/RL's Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak that human rights and rule of law are a constant part of EU engagement in post-Soviet Central Asia. Mogherini met with the foreign ministers of the region's countries in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, on July 7 -- a day after dozens of people were detained amid anti-government protests in neighboring Kazakhstan. The EU official called on Kazakh authorities "to be consistent in their commitment to improve human rights standards."