US President Barack Obama has sharply criticized his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, saying Putin’s actions are harmful to his country in the long term
US President Barack Obama has sharply criticized his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, saying Putin’s actions are harmful to his country in the long term.
“I think President Putin represents a deep strain in Russia that is probably harmful to Russia over the long term, but in the short term can be politically popular at home and very troublesome abroad,” Obama said in an interview with The Economist.
Discussing about a wide range of topics, the US president dismissed Russia as a failed country.
"I do think it's important to keep perspective. Russia doesn't make anything," Obama said. "Immigrants aren't rushing to Moscow in search of opportunity. The life expectancy of the Russian male is around 60 years old. The population is shrinking."
Last week, the White House accused Moscow of violating an arms control treaty by testing a new ground-launched cruise missile.
In a letter to Putin, Obama said that Russia was not abiding by the terms of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
The Cold War treaty was designed to eliminate nuclear and conventional ground-launched cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 km (310 to 3,400 miles).
During his interview, Obama also noted that regarding the Kremlin, Washington should respond with resolve.
“And so we have to respond with resolve in what are effectively regional challenges that Russia presents. We have to make sure that they don’t escalate where suddenly nuclear weapons are back in the discussion of foreign policy. And as long as we do that, then I think history is on our side,” he said.
The two powers are at loggerheads over the current crisis in Ukraine. The US accuses Russia of supporting and arming pro-Russian forces in Ukraine, an allegation denied by Moscow.
The tension between the two countries escalated after Russia last year granted political asylum to former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden who revealed Washington’s spying programs.
