Moscow, Dec 2 : The US and its allies with numerous problems at home cannot and should not claim that they are a "beacon of democracy," the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. The Western countries have many "chronic problems" regarding freedom of speech, election administration, corruption and human rights, the Ministry on Wednesday said in a statement, commenting on the upcoming US "summit for democracy". The Ministry pointed out to the "hypocrisy" at the core of this summit to be held on December 9-10 at the initiative of the US administration, Xinhua news agency reported. "We urge all foreign partners not to engage in 'democratisation,' not to draw new dividing lines, but to return to the observance of international law and to recognise in practice the principle of the sovereign equality of states, enshrined in the UN Charter," it read. Russian officials and experts have criticised the so-called summit for being "chimerical" and only beneficial to US geopolitical interests. /IANS