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Russian right-wing party leader invites McCain to trip around Russia

President Putin previously said that McCain obviously had shortage of correct information about Russia

Photo ITAR-TASS/ Alexandra Mudratz

Photo ITAR-TASS/ Alexandra Mudratz

MOSCOW, September 20 (Itar-Tass) - Leader of Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDRP), Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has invited U.S. Senator John McCain to take a trip around Russia aboard a specialized ‘promotion train’ sponsored by his party so that the Republican senator “could see the country with his own eyes.”

He said it in the wake of McCain’s op-ed that was published Thursday by Pravda.ru Internet portal.

McCain’s article, which contained a long enough range of sharply worded accusations against Russian government, was written with the stated purpose of dispelling “falsehoods used by Russia’s rulers to perpetuate their power.”

“I am not anti-Russian, I am pro-Russian,” the senator claimed.

“McCain expressed a wish to visit our country,” Zhirinovsky said referring to the invitations to the senator, who was offered to attend a session of the Valdai International Discussion Club. This forum was founded almost ten years ago and it brings together top-ranking international experts for a discussion of a wide variety of issues related to Russia.

“If he comes to Valdai, he won’t learn a lot (about Russia - Itar-Tass) because that’s the place where professional political scientists get together,” Zhirinovsky said. “That’s not the country as such.”

“As for us, we can put him on the train and let him cross this land and see everything for himself,” he said.

Zhirinovsky indicated that the LDPR promotion train would return to the Urals soon and would then head for the Northern regions and for the Volga River area.

“We can pick McCain up anyplace,” he promised.

President Putin told a session of the Valdai Club Thursday that McCain obviously had a shortage of correct information about Russia.

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