Putin slams West for 'medieval crusade'
 

RUSSIAN Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has slammed the UN resolution allowing military action on Libya as a "medieval call to crusade" and hit out at Washington for its readiness to resort to force. In one of his most virulent diatribes against the West in years, Russia's de facto number one said there was no "logic" or "conscience" to the military action.
"The resolution by the Security Council, of course, is defective and flawed," Russian news agencies quoted Putin as telling workers on a visit to a missile factory yesterday.
"To me, it resembles some sort of medieval call to crusade when someone would appeal to someone to go to a certain place and free someone else."
Putin's comments marked a sharp hardening of Moscow's rhetoric against the Western military action on Libya after Russia abstained from the UN resolution last week, refusing to use its veto, which would have blocked its passage.
The Russian prime minister also lashed out at the "steady trend" of US military intervention around the world, accusing Washington of acting without conscience.
"I am concerned about the ease with which the decision to use force was taken," Putin was quoted as saying in reference to the current international campaign in Libya.
Noting that the US had already involved itself in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq, Putin added: "Now it's Libya's turn.
"And all of this under the guise of protecting peaceful civilians.
"Where is the logic, where is the conscience? There is neither one nor the other," Putin was quoted as saying.
Putin also said the events in Libya showed Russia had taken the right decision in strengthening its military capabilities, in possible reference to its massive new $655.8 billion rearmament plan.
"Today's events in Libya prove that we are doing everything right in terms of strengthening Russia's military capabilities," he was quoted as saying.
He also said Russia planned to double the production of strategic and tactical missile systems from 2013.
Putin's hardline comments also sit awkwardly with the reset in US-Russia ties championed by his successor in the Kremlin, President Dmitry Medvedev, which has seen a swift warming of relations over the last few months.


SOURCE

meanwhile President Medvedev is publicly criticising his prime minister for using the term "crusade".

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110321/163129608.html


http://en.rian.ru/world/20110321/163129484.html

I guess he did'nt get the memo on who is really in charge :hmmm:

I wonder how Stalin would handle this....

Mighty big words from a country who abstained from voting on the resolution. I wonder what 'jihad' means to Putin.

Sounds like a power struggle is ongoing in Russia.

Sounds like Russia is losing a customer.

There was me thinking he's too busy posing in the Gay Times. :shifty:;)

Maybe he wants to stay president, instead of having Putin take it back?

Too true! They probably hoped they could sell weapons to both sides!

Things are confused with Russian politics at the moment.
I personally don't see Medvedev giving way to Putin and this very public rebuke is interesting.

Some cynics will say it is all pre-planned but in the past few months there have been several occasions when Putin has made a statement only for Medvedev to contradict him and put him down.

My take on this is that Medvedev has managed to turn the balance of power or at least have got people on his side that gives him the security to publically put Putin down. Of late people seem to be getting suspicious of Putin and his popularity has waned slightly. I'm wondering if Putin has regretted whatever he tried by having Medvedev shooed in as president. Interesting times ahead I see.

If its a showdown my moneys on Putin.

Very interesting time ahead indeed.
:hmmm:

I see old school Russian politics going on now 'Dog'!
:03:
We need more of that additude in the U.S.A.!
:yeah:

I think Putin underestimated Medvedev a little bit when he put him into power. Will be very interesting to see how that pans out.

Gazprom tries to counter the EU's effort to escape dependency from Russian gas by focussing on North-Africa - Gazprom became heavily engaged in Lybian oil business and Lybian-European energy transit. Putin must hate his ally going out of busioness, for it puts the Gazprom investement into question.

Since I started thinking about Gazprom in Lybia just short time ago, I wondered why nobody here in the West is aware of this dimension. The Lybian war is of much bigger concern for Europe than Iraq, Afghanistan, or the revolutions in Egypt, Jemen and Tunisia.

NATO gives a pitiful presentation of itself. It is ironic that only the nations with some pride from their imperial times left, and with strong national pride as well (France, Britain), showed to be able and willing to become the first to change words for actual deeds and starting the mission, even if it was late.

NATO should stay out of it, anbd leave it to France command. NATO is too weakened and too much at risk to be comprimised due to Turkey and Erdoghan. France did well to leave the Turks out, like Israel did well to not inform Turkey of it'S strikes against Syria as well.

Not really. They play "good cop - bad cop". That way they can have their way without being held accountable for it. Clever!