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Static on the Line
A scandal has arisen between Russia and the United States after the Kremlin press service denied U.S. President George W. Bush's claim that he criticized Russia's parliamentary election in his last conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian information agencies carried statement yesterday by Russian presidential press secretary Alexey Gromov that it was Putin who raised the subject of the elections, refuting statements made by the U.S. State Department about the elections. According to the Kremlin, Bush responded that “the American foreign affairs department sincerely informed Russia of its feelings.”
Gromov said that the conversation touched on serious issues “that we will not comment on because of their confidentiality,” adding that “as far as we understand, the American side will not do so either.” Russian presidential aide Sergey Prikhodko stated that the conversation was initiated by Bush, lasted 40 minutes and concerned “issues connected with the Iranian nuclear program and the situation in the Near and Middle East, the results of the international meeting in Annapolis and several practical issues in bilateral relations.”
Bush recounted his version of the conversation at a press conference on Tuesday. He said that they talked about Iran in detail. When asked if they discussed the elections, Bush replied that “We were sincere in our expressions of concern about the elections.”
Thus, the U.S. president did not speak about his own feelings about the Russian elections, but about the position of the State Department. The Kremlin is correct in saying that Bush did not personally express his concern. He also did not disavow State Department concerns. He emphasized their “sincerity.”
A State Department spokesman stated that it “expressed our concern regarding the use of state administrative resources in support of United Russia, the bias of the state-owned or influenced media in favor of United Russia, intimidation of political opposition, and the lack of equal opportunity encountered by opposition candidates and parties” before the elections.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 06, 2007
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