Arriving in Moscow today, President Barack Obama commented to Novaya Gazeta on the Mikhail Khodorkovsky show trial, adding his view that it is "improper for outsiders to interfere in the legal processes of Russia." I see nothing wrong with that statement, only a problem in assuming that there is anything legal about the process against Khodorkovsky.
From the New York Times:
Mr. Obama raised concerns about the treatment of the businessman, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, who along with his partner has been put back on trial six years after they were first arrested. Critics say the new trial seems aimed at keeping Mr. Khodorkovsky, an opponent to the government who was once Russia's richest man, in prison.
"Without knowing the details, it does seem odd to me that these new charges, which appear to be a repackaging of the old charges, should be surfacing now, years after these two individuals have been in prison and as they become eligible for parole," Mr. Obama said in written answers to questions posed by a Russian opposition newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, over the weekend. "Nonetheless, I think it is improper for outsiders to interfere in the legal processes of Russia." (...)
In the A.P. interview, Mr. Obama said Mr. Putin had "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new." Mr. Obama said that it was time to move forward and that Mr. Medvedev "understands that."
The comment was seen as provocative, and some American officials worried that Mr. Obama may have been too sharp in taking on Mr. Putin while others argued that it let the president come in a position of strength. (...)
Novaya Gazeta's editors, Dmitri Muratov and Andrey Lipsky, asked Mr. Obama if he would ratchet back American attention to liberty issues in Russia.
"Of course not," Mr. Obama wrote, adding: "I agree with President Medvedev when he said that 'freedom is better than the absence of freedom.' So, I see no reason why we cannot aspire together to strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law as part of our 'reset.' "
