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Russian president, Putin takes a swipe at the west and Sweden over the Julian Assange debacle

Thursday, 06 September 2012
In the first interview since Putin was installed as president, he has accused Sweden of double standards in relation to the Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks case. The president accused the Western countries of double standards and also commented for the first time about the so much talked conviction of Pussy Riot rock bank members.

In an interview on a Russian television, Mr Putin said he did not understand why Sweden can not give the Wikileaks founder assurances that he would not be extradited to the United States. Vladimir Putin chuckle and stated that Assange is a typical example of the West, and in this case, Sweden and the UK double standards.

Julian Assange has long had a program on the English language TV channel, Russia today. The interview transcripts was then also placed on the president's official website online.

Putin also commented for the first time the case of the prison sentences of the women of the punk band, Pussy Riot. Putin did not want to comment on the verdict, but raise it from a moral point of view. He feels that the state has the obligation to protect the church and morality.

Putin also spoke at length about Syria and that Russia is not prepared to change its position. Instead, he argued that the West relies on the al Qaeda-affiliated troops to force Bashar al-Assad from power.