By AGENCIES
Published: Dec 16, 2011 01:12 Updated: Dec 16, 2011 01:12
MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin implicated Washington Thursday in the killing of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi and launched a tirade against Sen. John McCain in an extraordinary attack on US policies.
Putin used his annual televised phone-in to unleash the type of no-holds-barred attack that characterized his 2000-2008 term as president and threatens to shadow his expected return to the Kremlin in March elections.
Putin turned stone-faced when asked about a tweet from McCain — one of Putin'S fiercest critics — warning Russia it faced an "Arab Spring" revolt over the disputed Dec. 4 parliamentary elections.
"Mr. McCain fought in Vietnam. I think that he has enough blood of peaceful citizens on his hands. It must be impossible for him to live without these disgusting scenes anymore," Putin said in reference to Qaddafi.
"Who did this?" Putin demanded. "Drones, including American ones.
"They attacked his column. Then using the radio — through the special forces, who should not have been there — they brought in the so-called opposition and fighters, and killed him without court or investigation."
The Pentagon immediately dismissed the charge as "ludicrous."
"The assertion that US special operations forces were involved in the killing of Col. Qaddafi is ludicrous," spokesman Capt. John Kirby said on the sidelines of US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's visit to Iraq. "We did not have American boots on the ground in the Libya operation. All our support was done through the air and on the seas."
"I know Mr. McCain," said Putin while stressing that he prefers not to refer to him as a "friend."
"Mr. McCain was captured in Vietnam and they kept him not just in prison, but in a pit for several years," Putin added. "Anyone (in his place) would go nuts."
Putin rejected accusations of fraud in the recently concluded parliamentary election, charging the accusers with working to weaken Russia at the West's behest.
"This was not addressed in my direction. This was said about Russia. Some people want to move Russia aside somewhere in a corner, so it does not intervene in the ruling of the world," said Putin.
"They still fear our nuclear capabilities. That is why we are such an irritant. We have our own opinion and are conducting our own independent foreign policy ... And it clearly bothers someone."
Asked about tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov's presidential bid, Putin said he would welcome a strong competitor. He also added he would consider Michail Khodorkovsky's plea for a pardon if he submits one.
Once Russia's richest man, Khodorkovsky has been in prison since 2003 on tax evasion and fraud charges widely seen as a punishment for defying Putin's power. Prokhorov announced announced earlier Thursday that his first move if elected would be to pardon Khodorkovsky.
Source: ArabNews
Related: McCain's Betrayals of American Liberties
