* Putin writes on foreign policy ahead of March 4 election
* Says Iran, Syria must not be attacked
* Alleges United States interferes in Russian elections
(Adds remarks on China, North Korea, Afghanistan, missile
defence)
By Steve Gutterman
MOSCOW, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin said Russia
was alarmed by the "growing threat" of an attack on Iran over
its nuclear programme and warned that the consequences would be
"truly catastrophic".
In an article on foreign policy written before a March 4
presidential election he is almost certain to win, Russia's
prime minister also warned Western and Arab nations against
military intervention in Syria and accused Washington of
meddling in the politics of Russia and its neighbours.
Talking tough as he prepares to return to Kremlin while
facing the biggest protests of his 12-year rule and warily
watching upheaval in the Middle East, Putin said U.S. and NATO
intervention abroad was undermining global stability, not
buttressing it.
"I very much hope the United States and other countries ...
do not try to set a military scenario in motion in Syria without
sanction from the U.N. Security Council," Putin said in the
article published on Monday in the newspaper Moskovskiye
Novosti.
Putin made clear Russia, which along with China blocked a
U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at ending a government
crackdown on opponents in Syria, would use such levers to block
U.S. action when it sees fit.
NATO nations should not form coalitions to launch military
intervention when they lack Security Council support, he added.
"Nobody has the right to take for himself the prerogatives
and authorities of the United Nations, especially when it comes
to using force in relation to sovereign states," Putin said.
Part of a series he has published almost weekly in the two
months ahead of the election, the lengthy article included
criticism of the United States familiar from his 2000-2008
presidency and his campaign to reclaim Russia's top office,
which has fueled protests by tens of thousands who want change.
Putin said relations were marred by "regular U.S.
attempts to conduct 'political engineering', including in
regions that are traditionally important to us, and in election
campaigns in Russia" - a reference to his claims the
United States has supported government opponents in Russia and
ex-Soviet states.
Further afield, Putin suggested NATO had a "itch"
for war and that the United States was trying to guarantee its
security at the expense of others.
"A series of armed conflicts justified by humanitarian aims
is undermining the principle, hallowed by the centuries, of
state sovereignty," Putin said, suggesting the United States and
NATO were creating a "moral and legal vacuum" in world affairs.
In Russia and abroad, he signaled, Moscow will push back
when it believes the West is pressing its own agenda "under
cover of humanitarian slogans", as he argues happened when NATO
helped rebels oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi last year.
"Nobody can be allowed to try to implement the 'Libyan
scenario in Syria," Putin said.
"I very much hope the United States and other countries take
this sad experience into account and do not try to set a
military scenario in motion in Syria without sanction from the
U.N. Security Council.
STOKING NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION?
Putin struck a starker note on Iran, which Western nations
fear may be seeking nuclear weapons. Israel has threatened Iran
with pre-emptive strikes on its nuclear sites and the United
States has not ruled out force if sanctions and diplomacy fail.
"The growing threat of a military strike on this country
alarms Russia, no doubt," Putin said of Iran. "If this occurs,
the consequences will be truly catastrophic. It is impossible to
imagine their real scale."
Putin said global powers seeking to rein in Iran's nuclear
programme should recognise its right to enrich uranium, a
suggestion the West should be more flexible if it wants to
convince Tehran to rein in its nuclear programme.
Western nations are too quick to "grab for the cudgel of
sanctions or even military action," he said. "I remind you, this
is not the 19th century - or even the 20th."
Putin also warned against putting too much pressure on North
Korea, saying that its nuclear status is "unacceptable for
Russia" but that "efforts to test the strength of the new leader
are impermissible" because they could provoke countermeasures.
He suggested Western military intervention in
various nations, from the invasion of Iraq in 2003 to NATO's air
strikes against Gaddafi's forces in Libya, were only encouraging
nuclear proliferation.
Leaders may think, "'Hey, I've got an atomic bomb in my
pocket, nobody will touch me," Putin said.
"Like it or not, it's a fact that foreign intervention leads
to such thoughts."
"THE AMERICANS ARE OBSESSED"
The term of the protege Putin steered into the Kremlin in
2008, President Dmitry Medvedev, was marked by improvements in
Russian-U.S. ties, including a landmark 2010 nuclear arms
reduction treaty between the former Cold War foes.
But they are at odds over U.S. plans for a European missile
shield, which the Kremlin says it fears is intended to weakening
Russia's nuclear arsenal and upset the balance of power.
Putin said he still holds out hope for compromise on missile
defence, but suggested the United States may not ready.
"The Americans are obsessed with the idea of providing
themselves with absolute invulnerability," he said, adding that
would lead to "absolute vulnerability for everyone else".
Putin also expressed concern about Afghanistan, saying
thethe NATO operation - which Russia has aided by providing
transit and supply routes - had "not resolved its set tasks".
The threats from militancy and drug trafficking were not
diminishing, he said, and despite plans for a withdrawal "the
Americans are creating military bases there and in neighboring
countries. This clearly does not suit us," he said.
Critics say Putin uses the idea of a U.S. threat to deflect
attention from domestic problems and to bolster his image as
Russia's protector, and some analysts say Russia should be more
concerned about a rising China next door.
Putin had little but praise for Beijing in the article,
suggesting that he sees little to gain from showing wariness
toward a neighbour whose energy-hungry economy is a key market
for Russian oil and gas.
"I am convinced that the growth of China's economy is not a
threat at all but a challenge that carries with it a colossal
potential for business cooperation - a chance to catch the
'Chinese wind' in our economic sail," Putin said.
"China's conduct in the world arena gives no grounds to
speak of pretensions to dominance," said Putin, in contrast to
his criticism of the United States.
(Writing by Steve Gutterman; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Nguồn: http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E8DQ22C20120227?sp=true
