MOSCOW, July 9 (Itar-Tass) — Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that the Magnitsky Act and the creation of the U.S. missile defense system which’s upsetting the strategic parity cannot but be a source of concern for Russia.
“The replacement of the Jackson-Vanik amendment by an anti-Russian law and a course towards creating a missile defense system cannot but upset the existing strategic parity and be a source of concern for us,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Russian ambassadors and permanent representatives in foreign countries which was held at the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday.
Putin warned American politicians against temptation to score political points on tough anti-Russian rhetoric.
“It’s a hot election season and there’s a temptation to score political points on tough rhetoric and remember all ideological stereotypes and phobias which ought to have been abandoned long ago,” Putin told the Russian diplomats. “We see all this. We are not dramatizing the situation. We just keep noticing. It’s high time to give up such practices in resolving internal problems because it damages international relations,” President Putin went on to say.
President Putin believes that Russia shouldn’t hesitate to advance its military products to international markets.
“Other countries like the United States, France and Israel have elevated it to a state policy, which they are pushing quite aggressively,” Putin said.
Touching upon priorities of Russia’s economic development, Putin urged the ambassadors to use opportunities opened by Russia’s accession to the WTO.
“Our next task is to speed up our entry into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),” the president added.
The Russian president voiced discontent over the fact that Russia’s image abroad was being formed predominantly by non-Russians.
“In most cases, it’s not we who form the image of Russia abroad. That is why this image is often distorted and doesn’t reflect the real state of things in our country and its contribution to world civilization, science and culture. Our country’s stance on world affairs also gets one-sided coverage,” Putin went on to say.
“They who fire shots and deliver missile strikes are right. They are good. But those who call for restrained dialogue turn out to be guilty of something. We are to blame for poorly explaining our viewpoint. This is what we are guilty of,” the Russian leader emphasized.