Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. October 27, 2010 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
(Shutterstock)
In an op-ed published yesterday in The New York Times, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke directly to the American people.
President Putin said that a potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the Pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders.
He adds that a strike would increase violence, unleash a new wave of terrorism, and could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa.
Putin argues that a U.S. strike could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance.
The statement maintains Putin's high profile in this controversy as the U.N. begins to put together a resolution that could control and destroy Syrian chemical weapons.
Joining The Takeaway to discuss the op-ed piece is Steven Lee Myers, Moscow Bureau Chief, for our partner The New York Times.
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
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Comments [4]
I HOPE THE PRESIDENT CAN RESPOND ABOUT THE US BEING EXCEPTIONAL. HE NEEDS TO EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS AND HOW IT CAME ABOUT. IT'S NOT RELIGION AS PUTIN SUGGESTED, IT'S THE FACT THAT THE US WAS UNDER A DESPOT AND DECIDED NOT TO LIVE UNDER THAT CONTROL. THE US PUT THE KING ON NOTICE AND JOINED THE BATTLE FOR FREEDOM, CREATE DOCUMENTS SETTING US FREE TO DO AS WE PLEASE, ETC, ETC, ETC. LETS HOPE RUSSIA AND IT'S PEOPLE CAN DO THE SAME.
Putin has several salient points, but his argument is severely undercut by his unwillingness to even admit that the Syrian government used chemical weapons (US intel has convincingly proven that it did - Syrian regime soldiers in the area were distributed & ordered to wear gas masks immediately before the Damascus gassing occurred). Hopefully the Russian-Syrian plan to execute Secretary of State John Kerry's proposition to isolate Syria's chemical weapon stockpiles can avert US military action altogether. For that to work, it needs to be enacted swiftly, and there needs to be no new incidents of chemical weapon usage in the conflict in the meantime. Here's crossing fingers...
Putin has several salient points, but his argument is severely undercut by his unwillingness to even admit that the Syrian government used chemical weapons (US intel has convincingly proven that it did - Syrian regime soldiers in the area were distributed & ordered to wear gas masks immediately before the Damascus gassing occurred). Hopefully the Russian-Syrian plan to execute Secretary of State John Kerry's proposition to isolate Syria's chemical weapon stockpiles can avert US military action altogether. For that to work, it needs to be enacted swiftly, and there needs to be no new incidents of chemical weapon usage in the conflict in the meantime. Here's crossing fingers...
Putin makes too much sense. Now, I really don't trust the situation.I'm back on Obama's side.
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