Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly went on a ‘seemingly endless’ 45-minute rant against the United States during his first meeting with Barack Obama in Russia.
The revelation of Putin‘s reported tirade was disclosed in Obama’s forthcoming memoir, ‘A Promise Land,’ which discusses the former president’s childhood days and his presidential first term up until the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.
According to ‘A Promise Land,’ per The Sun, the two political figure’s first meeting happened in July 2009 at Putin’s ‘dacha,’ a gated mansion settled into the Moscow suburbs.
‘Obama talks about how Putin didn’t look imposing when they posed for photos, describing him as “short and compact,” with a prominent nose and pale watching eyes,’ a source told The Sun.
‘He talks about how male waiters in traditional peasant dress and high leather boots served them eggs and caviar and poured tea, while Putin launched into a “seemingly endless” diatribe about every single perceived injustice and betrayal that he said he and the Russian people had suffered at the hands of the Americans.’
‘Putin said he liked President George W Bush personally and reached out after the September 11 attacks, to pledge his solidarity and had even offered Russia’s help in handling Saddam Hussein.
‘But he said Bush went and invaded Iraq and accused him of destabilizing the entire Middle East.’
The memoir source said that Obama aides attempted to curb the reported diatribe, but he insisted Putin continue,
‘The staffers who accompanied Obama to the meeting tried to cut it short when Putin was about thirty minutes into the rant,’ The Sun reports.
‘But Obama describes how he decided not to interrupt as it appeared that Putin had rehearsed the entire thing.
‘It was 45 minutes before he finally stopped and Obama answered him point by point in what turned into a marathon two hour conversation. He claims that Putin seemed open but not enthusiastic to his point of view.’
Under the Obama administration, the U,S. called for a ‘reset’ in the two countries’ relationship after years of growing tension throughout several presidencies. But tensions soured as Obama worked through his second term.
The Trump administration‘s relationship with Russia was marred by election meddling allegations that persisted through the President’s four years in office.
And most recently, Putin signaled that he supported the Democratic party’s ascent back into the Oval Office with President-elect Joe Biden.
‘Democratic Party is traditionally closer to the so-called liberal values, closer to Social Democratic ideas, if compared to Europe,’ Putin said during a TV interview last week.
But he added that ‘we can hear rather sharp anti-Russian rhetoric as well. Regrettably, we have become used to this.’
The first installment of ‘A Promise Land’ will be one of two volumes with Penguin Random House, the publishing company that paid a record $65million for Michelle Obama‘s best-selling memoir, ‘Becoming.’
Obama’s memoir will include his struggles with approving the Osama bin Laden assassination because he couldn’t discuss it with Michelle, as well as how Donald Trump offered to build a ‘beautiful ballroom’ at the White House.
Source : Daily mail
