LOL... C'mon lorne! You've got the wrong, SANITIZED account of Putin's press conference!!! Amazingly, our so far unflappable, cold-fish-KGB-veteran blew his top....
Putin Warns Rebels Are Out to Kill
1 hour, 11 minutes ago
By ROBERT WIELAARD, Associated Press Writer
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The Russian president said Chechen rebels want to kill all non-Muslims and suggested that a French reporter who questioned the Kremlin's policy in Chechnya convert to Islam and come to Moscow for circumcision, according to a translation of Vladimir Putin's remarks that became available Tuesday.
"If you want to become an Islamic radical and have yourself circumcised, I invite you to come to Moscow. Our nation is multi-confessional, we have experts in the field," Putin said in response to a question from a reporter from the Le Monde newspaper.
Putin was in Brussels for talks with leaders of the European Union.
"I would recommend that he who does the surgery does it so you'll have nothing growing back, afterward," according to Putin's remarks to a news conference Monday. Circumcision is a tenet of Islam for all males.
The Russian president's interpreters gave only intermittent translation during Putin's remarks, which were delivered rapidly and with agitation, according to those who saw the outburst.
The exact meaning of what Putin had said was not widely understood among the 450 journalists and only became clear on Tuesday when translated by The Associated Press from an audiotape of the news conference.
Le Monde's coverage in Tuesday's editions did not mention Putin's remarks.
The Russian president, a former KGB spy operative, spoke at great length about the dangers of Islamic fundamentalism and the war in Chechnya. He said Chechen Muslims want a Caliphate - or Muslim state "on Russia soil." Putin said that Islamic "radicals have much more ambitious goals. They talk about setting up a worldwide Caliphate and the need to kill Americans and their allies.
"They talk about the need to kill all ... non-Muslims, or 'crusaders,' as they put it. If you are a Christian, you are in danger," Putin said.
"If you decided to abandon your faith and become an atheist, you also are to be liquidated according to their concept. You are in danger if you decide to become a Muslim. It is not going to save you anyway because they believe traditional Islam is hostile to their goals."
Putin's remarks to the Le Monde correspondent were in response to a question about the Russian army's alleged use of heavy weapons against Chechen civilians.
In Moscow on Tuesday, the daily Kommersant said the summit "ended in a serious scandal" as a result of the Putin comments. It said Kremlin aides said Putin's remarks were in response to a "provocative question." Gazeta.ru, a leading online publication, quoted unidentified Putin aides as saying the president was tired and angry for being peppered with Chechnya questions.
EU spokesman Jonathan Faull, who was not at Monday's news conference at the European Commission, said the remarks by Putin, if correctly reported, were "entirely inappropriate." Faull said he would inquire why the EU did not provide its own interpreters instead of relying on those Putin brought from Moscow.
Gunnar Wiegand, another EU spokesman, said it was not the job of EU officials to take responsibility for comments by foreign dignitaries. He said Putin used "decidedly less robust" language when speaking of the war in Chechnya and Islamic fundamentalism during meetings with EU leaders.
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