The European Union sees improvements in human rights observance in Russia, but is concerned with the situation in several North Caucasus regions, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said on Tuesday.

"On human rights, I expressed our appreciation for recent legislative developments in Russia - the ratification of Protocol 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the expansion of jury trials nationwide, and the confirmation of the moratorium on the death penalty," he said at the Russia-EU summit in south Russia's Rostov-on-Don.

"However, the situation for human rights defenders and journalists in Russia is of great concern to the European public at large. Another matter of concern - which I noted was shared by President [Dmitry] Medvedev - is the climate of impunity, in particular in Chechnya and other areas of the North Caucasus," he added.

Russia-EU summits are held twice a year - once in Russia and once in the country holding the EU's rotating presidency.

The agenda was to include anti-crisis measures, energy security and climate change.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, June 1 (RIA Novosti)