US Senator John McCain has penned a blistering column for Russian media, telling the Russian people that their President Vladimir Putin is a dissent-quashing tyrant who "doesn't believe in you."
The senior US politician, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, accused Putin and his associates of rigging elections, imprisoning and murdering opponents, fostering corruption and "destroying" Russia's reputation on the world stage.
"I am not anti-Russian," McCain wrote in the piece, which his office said was sent to both the Communist Party's Pravda newspaper as well as to online media outlet Pravda.ru
The latter was expected to publish it on Thursday, his staff said.
"I am pro-Russian, more pro-Russian than the regime that misrules you today."
In a blunt, often personal counter-punch that ran more than 800 words, McCain wrote that he bears no ill will toward the Russian people, only the
country's government which he says ignores humanity's "inalienable rights" of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
"President Putin and his associates do not believe in these values. They don't respect your dignity or accept your authority over them," wrote McCain, who was a staunch supporter of US President Barack Obama's early plan for a military strike against Syria for that regime's apparent use of chemical weapons.
"They punish dissent and imprison opponents. They rig your elections. They control your media. They harass, threaten, and banish organizations that defend your right to self-governance."
Putin, in his third term as president, "is not enhancing Russia's global reputation. He is destroying it," McCain said.
"He has made her a friend to tyrants and an enemy to the oppressed," untrusted by countries seeking a more peaceful and prosperous world.
"President Putin doesn't believe in these values because he doesn't believe in you," McCain said.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.