Syria: Putin condemns west’s ‘policy of interference’

Published on Thursday 9 February 2012 02:12

Vladimir Putin has said the world faces a growing “cult of violence” and Moscow must not let events such as those in Libya and Syria be repeated in Russia, warning the west against interference in a country he intends to lead for years to come.

Weeks ahead of a March presidential election he is almost sure to win despite the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule, Putin also sent a stark signal to political foes that he will not tolerate threats to the stability he feels he represents.

Putin’s remarks yesterday, at a meeting with Russian religious leaders, echoed the criticism of US and Nato military action abroad that he frequently voiced as president between 2000 and 2008.

“We, of course, condemn all violence regardless of its source, but one cannot act like an elephant in a china shop,” Putin said as talk turned to Libya and Syria. “Help them, advise them – limit, for instance, their ability to use weapons – but do not interfere under any circumstances.”

A cult of violence has been coming to the fore in international affairs in the past decade,” he added. “This cannot fail to cause concern ... and we must not allow anything like this in our country.”

By raising the spectre of Arab Spring upheaval reaching Russia, Putin seemed to reveal a powerful motive for Moscow’s opposition to western calls for Assad to step down after 11 months of bloodshed fuelled by his crackdown on opponents.

Russia used its veto power in the UN Security Council to amplify that message on Saturday, locking elbows with China to block a western-Arab draft resolution supporting a call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit.

Russia also has pragmatic reasons to resist political change in Syria, its last real foothold in the Middle East.

Syria has been a major client for Russian arms and hosts a naval maintenance facility on its Mediterranean coast, the only base outside the former Soviet Union for Russia’s shrunken navy.