Izvestia: “Putin criticises international coalition’s Libya policy”
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has criticised the international coalition's policy on Libya.
You shouldn't compare Serbia and Libya, but the lightness with which decisions to launch air strikes are made is a bit frightening, Putin said in Serbia where he arrived in the run-up to the 12th anniversary of the NATO air strikes on March 24, 1999.
Belgrade
Vladimir Putin became an honorary citizen of Kosovo and Metojia for his efforts to uphold Serbia's territorial integrity. Local journalists asked Putin at a news conference how he felt about this.
"I understand the political implications of this question and this action very well. I consider anything you do in the interests of Serbia to be acceptable. If something benefits Serbia, then, in our opinion, it also meets the interests of the Russian Federation," Putin noted.
Putin said Russia praised direct contacts between Belgrade and Pristina, and is willing to assist them and do anything possible so that "this ends successfully for Serbia's leaders."
"Any negotiations are better than hostilities. So, we support them in every way," Putin explained.
The journalists tried to draw similarities between the tragic 1999 developments in Serbia and the current Libyan situation. However, Putin said the events couldn't really be compared because the two countries are different. But the prime minister is worried about the international coalition's tactics.
"What do we see today? The entire country is being attacked," Putin said. "How can one pursue a policy to protect the population which inevitably increases civilian casualties? I'm concerned about how lightly the decisions to use force in international affairs have been made in the past few years," Putin stressed.
Putin drew attention to the fact that Western politicians play two different games all the time. For instance, Libya had long been subjected to strict international isolation, and Russia had abided by the restrictions. Then Russia's Western partners started mending their relations with Libya after it became profitable to cooperate with Tripoli, and after multi-billion-dollar contracts were signed. At that point, Colonel Gaddafi was received in every European capital.
Serbia which is having trouble coping with the aftermath of the global economic recession also needs economic assistance today. Unemployment and inflation are rife, and external debts continue to snowball.
Russia has already loaned $200 million to Serbia for its budget deficit and is now studying the possibility of another $800 million loan to finance specific projects in energy, transport, environmental protection and science. The two countries have signed a number of cooperative agreements in energy, tourism and international road traffic in the presence of Vladimir Putin and his Serbian counterpart Mirko Cvetkovic.
Anastasia Savinykh
