Timmermans: Russian Gays Don’t Need Asylum in Netherlands

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said that he was misquoted in earlier news report stating that Russian law bans homosexual propaganda among minors violates the rights of sexual minorities and Russian gays may apply asylum in the Netherlands. Timmermans said that guys aren’t being prosecuted in Russia and they have no grounds to ask the Netherlands for asylum, RIA Novosti reports. Minister of Foreign Affairs Frans Timmermans - wikipedia In an interview with RIA Novosti, Timmermans said “I’ve never said this.” “I answered... parliamentary questions in the written form. And in my answer I said in general terms, it didn't pertain to Russia specifically, that if homosexuals are prosecuted, they are in a position to ask asylum in the Netherlands," he said. "At this stage people who are homosexuals are not being prosecuted in Russia, so there is no ground for asylum in the Netherlands. It was a generic answer to a generic question; it was not specifically aimed at Russia," Timmermans said. Recently, Russia adopted an anti-gay propaganda law that is aimed solely at protecting children. It does not discriminate against homosexuals or prevent adults from making their own sexual choices, the publication said.