Spokesman: Putin never preaches anyone on international affairs

The Kremlin “has a hard time understanding” why the United States continue to announce their uniqueness on the global arena, said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the announcement made by the White House with regards to Putin’s opinion piece published in The New York Times. “Democracy implies competition, but sometimes one gets a feeling that the U.S. have long forgotten it,” the spokesman said. Peskov explained that when the president was writing the article, “no one planned to engage anyone in confrontation or, even worse, insult someone.” “Putin never preaches anyone when it comes to international affairs,” he said. “However, over the last decade our American friends used to give everyone patronizing pats on the back, which generally lead to the global attitude towards the U.S.” he added. “Putin’s article is on international affairs and their foundations,” he noted, adding that “Any country which considers itself democratic, of course, projects its internal processes on international relations; we expect this from everyone.” Peskov urged to refrain from forecasts and evaluations of the possible decision of the world community on the Syrian issue. “Any discussions outside the framework of the dialogue which is currently underway in Geneva between Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry should not take place,” he said. “The stakes are so high, the sliver of hope is so small that it’s better to avoid commenting on the possible outcomes,” the spokesman added. There are strong reasons to state that not official Damascus, but the opposition forces are behind the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an article published by The New York Times on Wednesday. Putin’s article has sparked interest and positive reaction among Americans, local media reported. However, Washington did not appreciate it. Jay Carney believed the question asked by Itar-Tass correspondent whether the U.S. thought they had to abide by international laws was not serious and did not answer it. Instead, the official reminded that Russia blocked anti-Syrian resolutions in the UN.