MOSCOW, September 19. (Itar-Tass) – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will read the article penned by American senator John McCain, but will not engage him in polemics, said Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
“We will definitely read it. McCain is well known for being not a fan of Putin. Engaging him in debate is unlikely – it’s the point of view of someone living across the ocean,” the press secretary said in an interview to Russian News Service agency.
“As far as what Russians deserve – they’re capable of answering this question themselves and they do answer it during elections. I don’t think that point of view of someone across the ocean plays any sort of role in how Russians express their will,” he emphasized.
McCain’s opinion piece on his view on what’s going in Russia is posted on Pravda.ru web portal. It includes criticism targeting Russia’s top officials. At the same time, McCain emphasizes that he criticizes Russia’s leadership even though he’s “not anti-Russian.”
McCain remains one of the most vocal critics of Russia’s politics in the U.S. congress.
Vladimir Putin’s Op-Ed in New York Times
Vladimir warned the U.S. public that the strike against Syria might unleash a new wave of terrorism. He also advocated peaceful dialogue between the various parties to the Syrian conflict right from the moment that violence broke out in that Arab country, and stated that there are strong reasons to believbe that not official Damascus, but the opposition forces were behind the use of chemical weapons in Syria.