Moscow slams Romney for tough words on Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Friday criticized U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for his tough words on Moscow. The former Massachusetts governor on Thursday night accepted Republican Party's nomination to run against President Barack Obama in the coming election. In his prime-time speech, Romney vowed to take tougher stance on relations with Russia and Putin if he wins the presidential race. Commenting on Romney's speech, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that U.S.-Russia relations should not be hijacked by the election debates. During previous official meetings at various levels, Moscow and Washington have reached consensus that "it was inadmissible for the bilateral ties to fall victim to the pre-election debates," RIA Novosti news agency quoted Peskov as saying. President Putin has said several times Russia was interested and would continue to be willing to develop bilateral ties with the U.S. side, Peskov added. Local experts said Romney's comments on Russia was similar to that of the former George W. Bush administration during the second presidency. A possible victory of Romney in the upcoming November election would not seriously damage the bilateral ties, Alexei Pushkov, head of Russia's State Duma Committee of International Affairs told local media. After Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in August, Moscow does not need much support of Washington. Meanwhile, the U.S. needs Russia's support on Iran, Afghanistan, nuclear nonproliferation and many other international issues. The deteriorated bilateral ties would cost the U.S. much more than Russia, Pushkov said.