Putin Questions US Intentions, Defends Questionable Policies

[NATO AIR]

he's flying off the handle again, great way to warm things up with bush the day before your summit.... jackass

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21917-2004Dec23.html

Putin Questions U.S. Intentions
In Annual New Conference, Russia President Criticizes Iraq Policy, U.S. Interference in Ukraine

By Peter Finn
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, December 23, 2004; 6:23 PM

MOSCOW. Dec. 23 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday accused the United States and European Community of using "double standards" in disputing the results of last month's Ukrainian presidential elections.

While stressing good relations with the United States, Putin questioned the U.S. and European position in the elections, where the Russian-backed candidate had been declared the victor. Ukraine's Supreme Court invalidated the result and a new election will be held Sunday.

"Do you think that the electoral system in the United States is without flaws?" Putin said during a traditional year-end news conference. "Need I remind you of how their elections were held in the United States?"

Putin compared the Ukrainian case to charges of voter fraud in Afghanistan in presidential elections in October, when Hamid Karzai, the U.S.-favored candidate, was elected in that country's first free presidential ballot. U.S. and European Union monitors said that Ukraine ballot fraud was widespread, however, while Afghan irregularities were considered relatively minor.

The Russian leader spoke for three hours with flashes of anger and wry jabs at critics of Russian policy. Among other topics, Putin said that his government had acted legally in selling Yuganskneftegaz for $9.3 billion, a key asset of the besieged Yukos company, to recover billions owed in back taxes. The action effectively nationalized the Siberian oil operation, which produces about 1 million barrels daily.

Putin also questioned the U.S. and European position on recent voting in the conflict-torn Russian republic of Chechnya, where the Kremlin-backed candidate, Alu Alkhanov, won a presidential election in August. The United States had found "serious flaws" in those elections.

In comparison, he cited planned Jan. 30 elections in U.S.-occupied Iraq. "In Iraq, 100 percent of whose territory is occupied, it's okay to hold elections," Putin said. "I have strong doubts," he said, "about the possibility of holding democratic elections in conditions where the country is fully occupied by foreign troops."

Putin focused on elections this Sunday in the Ukraine, a rerun of Nov. 21 balloting between opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, a pro-Western candidate, and the pro-Russian candidate, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

The Russian leader came close to an acknowledgment, already expressed privately by Kremlin advisers, that Yushchenko will win on Sunday. He said he anticipated good relations with Yushchenko and said he was open to him quickly visiting Moscow. Yushchenko has said he wants to visit the Kremlin for his foreign trip if he wins the presidency. But Putin warned the candidate that he should be careful about who serves in his administration.

"We expect though that among the people surrounding Mr. Yushchenko there will be no people who base their political ambitions on anti-Russia" or anti-Semitic slogans, Putin said. Putin had originally misspoken by using the word Zionism, instead of saying anti-Semitic, Echo-Moskvi radio reported Thursday night.

He also criticized a recent statement by Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski, who said in that for the United States, "Russia without Ukraine is better than Russia with Ukraine."

Kwasniewski has been spoken of as a possible future secretary-general of NATO. Putin also deliberately noted that Kwasniewski is a former Communist saying he remembered him as a member of the Young Communist League, the Komsomol.

"If this is interpreted as an intention to limit Russia's ability to develop relations with its neighbors . . . that amounts to a wish to isolate the Russian federation," he said. He said that he did not think the Polish leader was not speaking on behalf of the United States.

Putin said he would ask Bush about the statement when the men meet in February. He added that Bush is a "decent man" and said the U.S. and Russia were allies in the war on terrorism, he said.

Kremlin political consultant Sergei Markov said in an interview before the news conference that Putin is worried about charges of anti-Russian sentiment among Yushchenko's team.

Putin defended as legal the acquisition by Rosneft, a government-controlled company, of Yuganskneftegaz, which was auctioned off by the government last Sunday. He said that the privatization of many state-run companies after the dismantling of the Soviet Union had been illegal.

"You all know very well how privatization took place here in the 1990s and how, using various tricks, and sometimes violating the laws that were in effect at the time, many market participants got hold of state property worth many billions," Putin said. "Today, the state, using absolutely legal market mechanisms, is securing its interests. I consider this to be quite normal."

He mocked a ruling by a bankruptcy judge in Houston last week, after Yukos filed Chapter 11 proceedings there. The company sought to prevent the auction of the Yuganskneftegaz oil fields in Siberia, and barred the Russian natural gas company Gazprom from bidding. The asset will now likely fall to Gazprom anyway as the state plans to fold Rosneft into Gazprom, leaving the government with a controlling interest in the new company.

Putin said he was "amazed" by the decision of the Houston bankruptcy judge who granted Yukos a temporary injunction barring the sale.

"I'm not even sure that she (the judge) knows where Russia is located," he said.

Yukos officials said Thursday they would continue to pursue legal action following the auctioning of Yuganskneftegaz. But analysts said the government purchase could be protected from litigation under the principle of sovereign immunity.

"They did not even bother to attempt to hide their contempt for international law, international public opinion or majority and minority shareholders," said Group Menatep, which owns 53 percent of Yukos, in a statement after Putin's news conference.

 

[HGROKIT]

Two comments:

1) Russia is still pissed about their failure in Afghanistan
2) Somone must have spiked Putin;s vodka with Dioxyn

 

[Zhukov]

he's flying off the handle again, great way to warm things up with bush the day before your summit.... jackass

Never mind his posturing. He's just being.....well, Russian.

Kosovo also had elections. Over two hundred thousand Serbs fled their homes and were unable to take part in the elections – and that is okay, the elections were democratic. Perfect!

Now Iraq is preparing to go to the polls. Perhaps things will not go so far, but the initial idea was that the OSCE would monitor the ballot from Jordanian territory. But this is a farce. Do you understand? Everything has been turned upside down.

But when we proposed monitoring elections in the Chechen Republic – no, they said, this cannot be done, because the conditions are not ripe, although hostilities ended a long time ago, and there are bodies of authority and administration. And with Iraqi territory 100% occupied, it is possible to hold elections! Between June and November in Baghdad alone, 3,500 civilians were killed, while in Falluja no one calculated the death toll. According to our information, fighting raged in nine cities and large populated areas yesterday – indeed, the conditions are normal, and people can go to the polls. But not in Chechnya!

the comments which preceded and followed his statements concerning our elections...

I am satisfied with the way our relations with the United States as a whole are developing. The United States is one of our priority partners. We have implemented a great deal of joint projects in the economic sphere. We are, undoubtedly, partners in addressing a series of pressing modern-day issues, above all in countering terrorism. I would even say we are more than partners, we are allies in this sphere. The United States and Russia are the biggest nuclear powers, and therefore, we bear a particular responsibility in terms of arms control and the non-proliferation of the weapons of mass destruction. These underlying issues that make the core of our relations with the United States must not be forgotten against the backdrop of recent momentary, scandalous developments that are tactically designed to attract public attention. I believe these issues, our countries’ national interests make the basis of the relationship between President Bush and myself. Our opinions do not always coincide, and we have acknowledged this in public on many occasions, but I trust him completely as he is my partner, and I know that if we reach an agreement, he will work to implement it. I do the same myself.

.....

As to the accusations of disproportionate, unequal access to the media, I believe incumbent politicians always have an advantage, as they are more often shown on television while carrying out their duties. Is this not clear? Everybody understands it is. We do heed constructive criticism, but do not pay attention to instances of muddying the waters.

It perhaps goes without saying that it is a bit more interesting to watch on C-SPAN, with facial expressions, gesticulations, and what have you, but nevertheless the press conference was quite interesting, and if you have the time you should take a few minutes to read through it:

http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2004/12/23/1806_81700.shtml

 

[NATO AIR]

you know aside from the whole 21st century czar thing he's got going on, i like putin. he's that bastard that knows where the bodies are buried and who put them there, and he also will not let russia fade away on his watch if he can help it. i respect that, far better performance than yeltsin. eventually, maybe putin will improve on that whole czar bit... but when you're going into a summit where you've been screwing up by the numbers the past few months with the POTUS, maybe you should posture "russian" style a bit less.

nevertheless, again, a real improvement over yeltsin.

i'll check c-span on the base cable while i'm on duty tomorrow and see if they replay it.

thanks