Putin dismisses US concerns

2004-03-15 08:36

Moscow - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday dismissed US criticism of a presidential poll that saw him storm to a second term in a landslide re-election.

"This is dictated by the internal political situation" in the United States, Putin said from his campaign headquarters near the Kremlin.

"No one has a right to think that if they criticise others, they cannot be criticised themselves," he said.

On Sunday, top US officials expressed concern over Russia's election, the third in the post-Soviet era.

"We are concerned about the way this election is being held," US secretary of state Colin Powell told Fox News programme.

Powell expressed particular concern about a lack of media access afforded to the five candidates challenging Putin.

"Russians have to understand that to have full democracy of the kind the international community will recognise, you've got to let candidates have all access to the media that the president has," Powell said.

"I don't see it going back to the days of the Soviet Union. But we are concerned about a level of authoritarianism creeping back in the society," Powell said later on ABC television.

His views were echoed by national security advisor Condoleezza Rice.

"We are concerned that the elections have not allowed full debate among the candidates," Rice told NBC television.

"We believe that Russia's best interest is in trying to associate itself with western values and with democratic values," she said.

- AFP