Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the US of provoking the conflict in Georgia, possibly for domestic election purposes.
Mr Putin told CNN US citizens were "in the area" during the conflict over South Ossetia and were "taking direct orders from their leaders".
He said his defence officials had told him the provocation was to benefit one of the US presidential candidates.
The White House dismissed the allegations as "not rational".
Georgia tried to retake the Russian-backed separatist region of South Ossetia this month by force after a series of clashes.
Russian forces subsequently launched a counter-attack and the conflict ended with the ejection of Georgian troops from both South Ossetia and another rebel region, Abkhazia, and an EU-brokered ceasefire.
Diplomatic wrangling
Mr Putin said in the interview: "The fact is that US citizens were indeed in the area in conflict during the hostilities.
"It should be admitted that they would do so only following direct orders from their leaders."
*snip*
I saw Dennis Kucinich (D-Mars) make just such a statement to BOR on Fox last night.
paragraphs to foreign affairs.
On the other end of the experience continuum is John McCain, who sat in the audience in Munich watching the Russian president. McCain has security and foreign policy credentials that date back almost 30 years, to the time he traveled the world with John Tower and Scoop Jackson as the Navy’s Senate liaison. He spends a lot of time visiting foreign leaders and attending conferences like the one in Munich. Though his opponents are anxious to brand him a hothead, McCain’s response to Putin was measured. ‘’Will Russia’s autocratic turn become more pronounced, its foreign policy more opposed to the principles of the Western democracies and its energy policy used as a tool of intimidation?’’ he asked in his speech given a few hours after Putin
Vladimir and Barack
Watching Obama, listening to Putin.
By John Dickerson
Posted Monday, Feb. 12, 2007, at 7:37 PM ET
http://www.slate.com/id/2159459/