Albright Says Bush Goes Easy on Putin

By Steve Gutterman

The Associated Press

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright criticized the current American administration's Russia policy in an interview published Wednesday, saying Washington is turning a blind eye to what she called President Vladimir Putin's increasingly undemocratic behavior.

The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush is going easy on the leaders of Russia and other former Soviet republics because it has made help in the war against terrorism and support for its actions in Iraq the key criteria in its relations with other countries, Albright told Vedomosti.

"In the case of Russia, it is a readiness to give President Putin almost complete freedom of action, closing its eyes to his increasingly undemocratic treatment of his opponents, the media, Chechnya," Albright was quoted as saying in the interview, which was conducted during a recent visit to Ukraine.

U.S. criticism of Russia's policy in Chechnya, where Putin has ruled out talks with rebels, has decreased since he expressed support for the war on terrorism following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"I am sure that there are terrorists among the Chechens," said Albright, who served under Bush's predecessor, Bill Clinton. "But not all Chechens are terrorists, and I regret that not enough is being done to promote a political settlement of the Chechen problem."

Albright did not discuss her concerns about democracy in Russia in detail. Since Putin's election in 2000, independent television networks have been shut or come under state control, and Russian liberals and Western observers say the Kremlin has used its levers of power to influence the outcome of elections.

Albright expressed concern over Putin's recent statement that the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union was a "national tragedy," saying she was afraid it reflected a view among some Russians that the other Soviet republics should be under Moscow's control.

"It seems to me that an attempt is taking place to once again see the [former republics] as, in essence, an integral part of some sort of Russian state," she said.

Albright also criticized the Bush administration for its negative attitude toward international treaties, saying she believes Russia's position on the Kyoto Protocol, which it has refused to ratify, was influenced by Bush's rejection of the pact aimed to curb global warming.

"It is very bad that Russia gets an opportunity to use the U.S. position as a cover for undermining an important international treaty," she said. The Kyoto Protocol needs Russia's ratification to take effect.