Vladimir Putin's Op-ed in New York Times

◼ A Plea for Caution From Russia: What Putin Has to Say to Americans About Syria - VLADIMIR V. PUTIN/New York Times Op-Ed

RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies....

Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world.

Mercenaries from Arab countries fighting there, and hundreds of militants from Western countries and even Russia, are an issue of our deep concern. Might they not return to our countries with experience acquired in Syria? After all, after fighting in Libya, extremists moved on to Mali. This threatens us all.

From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression. More at the link

◼ Putin Shocks, Drops Op-ed in New York Times on Russia’s Syria Proposal - Red Alert Politics

In a jolt to pundits and America’s political class, Putin took to the opinion pages of the New York Times Thursday to make a direct appeal to the American people for peacefully securing Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. President Obama said in a winding Tuesday night address that he would prioritize the Russian option, offered Monday and agreed to by Syria Tuesday, while asking Congress to postpone a vote authorizing his preferred option to launch targeted strikes on Syrian assets — and requesting that the U.S. military remain at the ready should international negotiations fall through....
“It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States,” Putin wrote. “Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan ‘you’re either with us or against us.’”

The last concern was at the forefront of Putin’s argument. The Russian leader spent many of his words in the op-ed extolling the idea of a multilateral solution and rejecting America’s superpower status in the global community. He saved his biggest shot at President Obama’s Tuesday speech and traditional American ideals for the conclusion.

“I would … disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is ‘what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional,’” Putin began. “It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation.”

◼ Russia’s position on Syria is all about constraining America - Washington Post