Putin Says U.S. Wants Iraq's Oil

By Associated Press

10/18/07 "AP" -- --- MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin, in his latest jab at Washington, suggested Thursday that the U.S. military campaign in Iraq was a "pointless" battle against the Iraqi people, aimed in part at seizing the country's oil reserves.

The Russian leader was responding to one of dozens of questions from the public in an annual televised Q&A session, his sixth since taking office in 2000. The event broadcast live on state-controlled TV channels and radio stations consisted largely of people from around the country quizzing Mr. Putin mainly on such bread-and-butter issues as pensions, public workers' salaries and school funding.

Mr. Putin also noted that Russia will have a different president next year, reaffirming his plans to step aside but leaving unclear what exact role he might have. With just two months remaining before crucial parliamentary elections -- and five before presidential elections -- speculation has mounted about Mr. Putin's plans once his second, consecutive term ends in March.

"In 2008, in the Kremlin there will be a different person," Mr. Putin said. But he added that he expects no radical policy changes from his successor. The next president should "keep the stable course of our nation and continuity in realizing the plans that have been devised in recent years," he said.

A 'Sort of Political Erotica'

The most internationally resonating remarks might have come when a mechanic from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk asked Mr. Putin about comments he said were made some years ago by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who suggested that Siberia had too many natural resources to belong to one country.

"I know that some politicians play with such ideas in their heads. This, in my view, is the sort of political erotica that might satisfy a person but hardly leads to a positive result," Mr. Putin responded. "The best example of that are the events in Iraq -- a small country that can hardly defend itself and which possesses huge oil reserves. And we see what's going on there. They've learned to shoot there, but they are not managing to bring order."

"One can wipe off a political map some tyrannical regime … but it's absolutely pointless to fight with a people," he said. "Russia, thank God, isn't Iraq. It has enough strength and power to defend itself and its interests, both on its territory and in other parts of the world."

Mr. Putin went on to say he believes one of the U.S. "goals is to establish control of the country's oil reserves," and that a concrete date must be set for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Unless such a date is set, he added in an echo of some U.S. war critics, "the Iraqi leadership, feeling [safe] under the reliable American umbrella, will not hurry to develop its own armed and law enforcement forces."

Deft Display of Statistics

In recent months, Mr. Putin has increasingly confronted U.S. foreign policy, deepening the chill between Washington and Moscow. Among other things, he has questioned the U.S. push for sanctions against Iran for its nuclear programs, and this week he became the first Russian leader to visit Iran since World War II.

Threats against Iran, he said during the television interview, are "harmful for international relations because dialogue with states ... is always more promising."

Mr. Putin also again warned against U.S. efforts to put elements of a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, one of the touchiest points of dispute for the U.S. and Russia. He said U.S. officials were genuinely considering Russian proposals to resolve the dispute but that "if a decision is made without taking Russia's opinion into account, then we will certainly take steps in response, to ensure the security of Russian citizens."

The Russian leader opened the session with a deft display of arcane statistics, reeling off a string of numbers to show the improvement in Russia's economy during his seven years in office. Much of the economic growth has been due to high world oil prices. He also said the country's birth rate was the highest it has been in 16 years and that the death rate was the lowest since 1999.

A sampling of questions listed on a Web site set up by the broadcasters before the Q&A session ranged from concerns about salaries for public-sector workers to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Black Sea town of Sochi to environmental worries.

Mr. Putin, who is widely popular among Russians for the stability and relative prosperity during his regime, has sought to use phone-ins along with tightly choreographed, lavish television coverage to project the image of a leader responding directly to voters' concerns.