Putin slams Clinton's election claims
Source: Agencies |
December 9, 2011, Friday
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PRIME Minister Vladimir Putin strongly criticized United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday, accusing her of encouraging and funding Russians protesting election fraud, and warned of a wider Russian crackdown on dissent.
By describing Russia's parliamentary election as rigged, Putin said Clinton "gave a signal" to his opponents.
"They heard this signal and with the support of the US State Department began their active work," Putin said in televised remarks.
He said the US is spending "hundreds of millions" of dollars to influence Russian politics with the aim of weakening a rival nuclear power.
Putin's tough words show the deep cracks in US-Russian ties despite US President Barack Obama's efforts to "reset" relations with the Kremlin. Ahead of the election, President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to deploy missiles to target the US missile shield in Europe if Washington failed to assuage Moscow's concerns about its plans.
Clinton has repeatedly criticized Sunday's parliamentary vote in Russia, saying, "Russian voters deserve a full investigation of electoral fraud and manipulation."
Russian protesters have taken to the streets in Moscow and St Petersburg for three straight nights despite a heavy police presence, outraged over observers' reports of ballot box stuffing and manipulations of the vote count. Moscow has already put about 50,000 police and 2,000 paramilitary troops on the streets.
Putin warned the government might take an even harder line against those who try to influence Russia's political process on behalf of a foreign government.
He accused the US State Department of spending "hundreds of millions" of dollars in Russia and his government has to "work out ways to protect our sovereignty from outside interference."
"We are the largest nuclear power," Putin said, addressing supporters during a televised meeting. "And our partners have certain concerns and shake us so that we don't forget who is the master of this planet, so that we remain obedient and feel that they have leverage to influence us within our own country."
Clinton reached out to Russia yesterday. "I think it's important to recognize that we value our relations with Russia," she said at a NATO meeting in Brussels, Belgium, where she also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "We have invested a great deal of effort on working together."
Clinton defended her criticism, saying she was expressing concerns the US thought were "well-founded." Russia's only independent election monitoring group, which is supported by grants from the US and European governments, has come under heavy official pressure in recent weeks.
Also yesterday, Russia's top poll official urged prosecutors to study photographs and video clips circulating on social networking sites that purport to show election fraud. If the images show genuine violations, they will be investigated, Central Election Commission chief Vladimir Churov said.
By describing Russia's parliamentary election as rigged, Putin said Clinton "gave a signal" to his opponents.
"They heard this signal and with the support of the US State Department began their active work," Putin said in televised remarks.
He said the US is spending "hundreds of millions" of dollars to influence Russian politics with the aim of weakening a rival nuclear power.
Putin's tough words show the deep cracks in US-Russian ties despite US President Barack Obama's efforts to "reset" relations with the Kremlin. Ahead of the election, President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to deploy missiles to target the US missile shield in Europe if Washington failed to assuage Moscow's concerns about its plans.
Clinton has repeatedly criticized Sunday's parliamentary vote in Russia, saying, "Russian voters deserve a full investigation of electoral fraud and manipulation."
Russian protesters have taken to the streets in Moscow and St Petersburg for three straight nights despite a heavy police presence, outraged over observers' reports of ballot box stuffing and manipulations of the vote count. Moscow has already put about 50,000 police and 2,000 paramilitary troops on the streets.
Putin warned the government might take an even harder line against those who try to influence Russia's political process on behalf of a foreign government.
He accused the US State Department of spending "hundreds of millions" of dollars in Russia and his government has to "work out ways to protect our sovereignty from outside interference."
"We are the largest nuclear power," Putin said, addressing supporters during a televised meeting. "And our partners have certain concerns and shake us so that we don't forget who is the master of this planet, so that we remain obedient and feel that they have leverage to influence us within our own country."
Clinton reached out to Russia yesterday. "I think it's important to recognize that we value our relations with Russia," she said at a NATO meeting in Brussels, Belgium, where she also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "We have invested a great deal of effort on working together."
Clinton defended her criticism, saying she was expressing concerns the US thought were "well-founded." Russia's only independent election monitoring group, which is supported by grants from the US and European governments, has come under heavy official pressure in recent weeks.
Also yesterday, Russia's top poll official urged prosecutors to study photographs and video clips circulating on social networking sites that purport to show election fraud. If the images show genuine violations, they will be investigated, Central Election Commission chief Vladimir Churov said.
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