In a letter to Arab leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a time limit for the U.S. military presence in Iraq. In a message sent to the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, Putin said he was "deeply concerned" over the situation in Iraq.
He also criticized as counterproductive attempts to resolve Middle East problems "unilaterally" and by "using force."
In what sounded like a critique of Washington, Putin complained about a "policy of unilateral use of force and a desire to monopolize conflict settlement." He also criticized those seeking to "provoke a confrontation between civilizations and faiths."
Putin said in the letter that Russia highly values "the Arab world's contribution to building a just multipolar world order and political and diplomatic settlement of crises."
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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