Shannon, Ireland – Vice President Dick Cheney, wrapping up an overseas trip that produced sparks in Moscow, on Sunday defended his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin as measured in tone.
“It’s more important that you have open, honest, frank discussions about your views,” Cheney said.
“None of us wants to see Russia as an enemy,” Cheney told reporters aboard Air Force Two on his way home after stops in Lithuania, Kazakhstan and Croatia.
Cheney praised the progress toward democracy across Eastern Europe and stressed the importance of Kazakh stan’s energy reserves. The former Soviet republic in central Asia is “one of the few places where we’re going to see an increase in oil production from a non-OPEC state over the next few years,” he said.
Cheney also said he thought it was a mistake for countries to nationalize their energy industries, as Bolivia recently said it was doing with its natural-gas resources.
Cheney has drawn criticism from Russia for saying at a conference in Lithuania last week that Putin is reversing democratic reforms and using energy reserves as blackmail to gain political leverage.
From Washington, one Putin critic lauded Cheney’s comments.
“They’re right on the mark,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
“Putin wants all of the benefits of being part of the West and part of the G8 and none of the responsibilities of democracy,” he told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Russia is hosting the Group of Eight summit of industrial nations in St. Petersburg in July.
The vice president rejected the suggestion that his remarks had been strident and described them as measured. He pointedly directed reporters to a speech delivered at the same conference by Andrei Illarionov, a former economic adviser to Putin who was sharply critical of the Russian president.
“The story of destruction of freedom in my own country, Russia, is sad,” Illarionov said. “The fall of freedom in one country is a blow to world freedom.”
