Secretary of State Colin L. Powell criticized Russia’s democratic shortfalls and its aggressive approach to the former Soviet republics in unusually direct language Monday, the day he met with President Vladimir Putin. In a front-page commentary in Izvestia, one of Moscow’s most influential newspapers, Powell said the U.S.-Russia relationship would “not achieve its potential” unless the two countries shared “basic principles.” “Russia’s democratic system seems not yet to have found the essential balance among the executive, legislative and judicial functions. Political power is not yet tethered to law,” Powell wrote. He added that neither the news media nor political parties were free to operate as they chose. Full Story
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