Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a sharp rebuke of American foreign policy at the annual Munich Conference on Security Policy on Saturday, accusing Washington of recklessly exceeding its authority and destabilizing the international order. His remarks visibly shocked an audience that included US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and senior Western officials.
Putin argued that a world dominated by a single power is inherently dangerous, leaving other nations with no reliable protection under international law. He also pushed back against Western criticism of Russia's democratic backsliding, contending that those lecturing Moscow on democracy were failing to practice it themselves.
The White House responded swiftly, calling Putin's accusations wrong and expressing disappointment. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he could not conceal his dismay, while Republican Senator John McCain rejected the premise that today's world is unipolar.
The speech deepened existing friction between Moscow and Washington, tensions that have grown since the warmer relations of the 1990s. Russia, flush with oil revenues, has worked to reassert its global standing, oppose US missile defense plans near its borders, and strengthen ties with American critics such as Venezuela.
Gates was scheduled to address the conference Sunday, in his first major public speech since taking office.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in February 2007, in its own words.