The name of what is arguably Russia's most flamboyant, ultra-nationalist politician, and according to some the local incarnation of Donald Trump, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a deputy in the state Duma and leader of the nationalist LDPR party, is familiar to frequent readers: he most recently made an appearance on these pages two months ago, when he warned Germany that it risks utter destruction if it continued on its present track of operating Bundeswehr forces in the Baltics. Zhirinovsky also shares another feature with Donald Trump: both are outspoken to a fault. Which is why we were not surprised to read that as Reuters reported earlier, Zhirinovsky urged Americans to vote for Donald Trump as president or "risk being dragged into a nuclear war."
In an interview with Reuters, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, known in Russia and Europe for his fiery rhetoric, said that Trump was the only person able to de-escalate dangerous tensions between Moscow and Washington.
On the other hand, Hillary Clinton could spark World War Three, said the Russian who received a top state award from Putin after his pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) came third in Russia's parliamentary election last month.
"Relations between Russia and the United States can't get any worse. The only way they can get worse is if a war starts," said Zhirinovsky, speaking in his huge office on the 10th floor of Russia's State Duma, or lower house of parliament. "Americans voting for a president on Nov. 8 must realize that they are voting for peace on Planet Earth if they vote for Trump. But if they vote for Hillary it's war. It will be a short movie. There will be Hiroshimas and Nagasakis everywhere."
Well, we said he was outspoken. And, Just like Trump, Zhirinovsky tends to polarize his fellow countrymen. According to Reuters while "many Russians regard the politician as a clownish figure who makes outspoken statements to grab attention" he is also "widely viewed as a faithful servant of Kremlin policy, sometimes used to float radical opinions to test public reaction."
Zhirinovsky's comments come at a time when relations between Russia and the US are at generational lows, as a result not only of the conflicts raging over Syria and Ukraine but also the recent White House accusation that Russia was responsible for cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations. In turn, an amused Putin replied his country was not involved in an effort to influence the U.S. presidential election. Instead Putin accused the US of "starting this hysteria, saying that this (hacking) is in Russia's interests. But this has nothing to do with Russia's interests," in a speech during a business forum in Moscow. He added that the accusations were a ploy to divert U.S. voters' attention at a time when public opinion was being manipulated. "Everyone is talking about 'who did it' (the hacking)," said Putin. "But is it that important? The most important thing is what is inside this information."
Credit to Zero Hedge and Israeli News Live
No comments:
Post a Comment