Putin: U.S. Mars Russia's Image And Rejects Friendship

[Purveyor]

Source: Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States of trying to undermine Russia to further its global dominance and said Washington had ignored Moscow's attempts to build a friendship.

In an interview with Time magazine, which named the Russian president its "Person of the Year" for 2007 on Wednesday, Putin said Washington had adopted its strategy of belittling Russia to try to influence the country's domestic and foreign policy.

"I believe ... this is a single-minded attempt to create a certain image of Russia which allows (Washington) to influence our internal and external policy," Putin said in the interview posted on the Kremlin's official site www.kremlin.ru.

"Russia hasn't only said but also repeatedly demonstrated by its entire policy in the last 15 years that we do not only want to be America's partner, but a friend as well," he said.

"But sometimes I have the impression that America does not need friends. We have the impression that America needs vassals to command."



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSL1928881920071219

[cliss]

1. "America does not need friends"

I would say that is the thing we need MOST of on this planet. Friends, not enemies.

[Toots]

2. Republicans have stated they would rather be feared than loved..

Hey Russia, you got a problem with that?? We want to be seen as the most Macho country of them all..screw all those that just want to get along...Didn't they learn anything from Rodney King?

[Supersedeas]

3. the go it alone Coward from Crawford's Connecticut Cowboy act is getting old

[hollowdweller]

4. Sad to say he's mostly right.

To me it's almost like Bush wants to start the cold war over again. Or maybe the people in his admin mostly come from the party who benefitted the most from it and can't help it. All I know is we've come a long way from the time when Clinton and Yeltsin hung out.

It's like Russia has rose up and their people are a bit more well off and now Bush is threatened. Hell we've invaded more countries and committed more acts of aggression in the last 20 years or so than Russia ever thought about.

Bush has the whole upper crust superior attitude that everybody picks up on and is turned off by.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

6. Bush is beholden to war and oil concerns... not global concerns

He and his ilk are LOSERS and are dragging America down with them.

[tom_paine]

5. Bushler and Putin are birds of a monstrous feather. I don't believe either of them.

n/t

[Deja Q]

7. In which case, Putin will turn away all American corporations wanting to offshore there, yes?

(of course not; they're "multinational" - at least until something that affects them happens, in which case that dreaded "A"-word comes back: "American".)

And if the US is affecting their policies, that's not unprecedented. Throughout world history, one country fetters another. India is involved in our policies...