Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin blamed George W. Bush for the dispute with Ukraine
that left much of Europe without gas this month, saying the former U.S. president
fostered political chaos in the region.
Putin, in an interview with
Bloomberg Television yesterday, said he is “cautiously optimistic” that
relations with the U.S.
will improve with Barack Obama in the White House. The new president spoke by
phone today with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Obama spokesman Robert
Gibbs told reporters in Washington.
The Bush administration
supported NATO membership applications from Ukraine
and Georgia, which Russia opposes, and planned to site a missile
defense system in Poland and
the Czech Republic. The U.S.
under Bush also signed a “strategic partnership” with Ukraine.
“What happened in recent
years in Ukraine is the
result, to a significant extent, of the activities of the previous U.S.
administration and the European Union, which supported it,” Putin said.
On another issue of importance to Russia, NATO expansion,
there are also “positive signals,” Putin said in the
interview. “They are saying that it is possible to provide
security for Ukraine and Georgia in various ways and it is not
essential to accept them into NATO now,” he said. “We welcome
that and are ready to take part in any discussion on working out
the best options to ensure international security.”
