PUNCHING THE AGGRESSOR
"What did you expect us to do? Respond with a catapult? ... We punched the aggressor in the face," he said, adding that falls in the stock market were due to the global credit crisis not to Russia's intervention in Georgia.Putin, his speech peppered with strong language, has spearheaded criticism of the United States, accusing the U.S. administration of stoking the conflict to help the Republican candidate in the race for the White House.His successor, President Dmitry Medvedev, once thought to be firmly in his mentor Putin's shadow, has steered a more balanced course, setting up a diplomatic "good cop, bad cop" routine.In Sochi, Putin accused the United States of acting like "a Roman emperor", but also said Moscow would maintain relations with the next U.S. president due to be elected in November."We'll see how actively they use anti-Russian rhetoric. This is a sign of the weakness of the candidates," he said. "Whatever the result of the elections we will speak and maintain relations with the next U.S. president."Putin again warned Poland and the Czech Republic against hosting the U.S. missile shield-a contrast to a slight softening of position by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Warsaw, where he said Moscow remained open to talks.Washington says the shield is aimed against what it calls "rogue states", like Iran, but Moscow fears it will pose a direct threat to Russia's security.
"Our targeting of these countries will happen as soon as these missiles are brought," Putin said.
"Please do not instigate an arms race in Europe. It is not needed. What should we do? Sit pretty while they deploy missiles?"He also said if Ukraine, a neighboring former Soviet republic, joined NATO, it "would be very detrimental".Putin showed little concern about sanctions, which had been raised by some members of the European Union, including the Baltic States.The bloc was unable to reach a consensus on whether and how best to punish its largest energy supplier, but Washington is holding out the prospect of sanctions."In the global context it is better to support one another," he said. "Risks are reciprocal. We are taking risks when we invest dozens of billions of dollars in the U.S. economy."
As in the days of Noah...