EDINBURGH, April 28, (RIA Novosti), Mark Hirst – First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions in restoring Russian national pride and revealed his admiration for the Russian people.
“Well, obviously, I don't approve of a range of Russian actions, but I think Putin's more effective than the press he gets I would have thought. You can see why he carries support in Russia,” said Salmond, responding to a question on Putin.
Salmond, who leads the pro-independence Scottish Government, gave the comments during an interview for GQ Magazine to Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former official spokesman, which will be published later this week.
“He's restored a substantial part of Russian pride and that must be a good thing,” Salmond added. “There are aspects of Russian constitutionality and the inter-mesh with business and politics that are obviously difficult to admire. Russians are fantastic people, incidentally, they are lovely people."
Salmond previously attracted criticism by Western leaders after he publicly criticised the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, labelling it an “unpardonable folly.”
