John McCain to respond to Vladimir Putin in Pravda opinion piece

John McCain to respond to Vladimir Putin in Pravda opinion piece

[link to www.telegraph.co.uk]

"Senator McCain is glad to take them up on the offer and will submit a piece," said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the senior Republican senator, one of the leading congressional voices on international affairs.

The announcement came a day after the venerable US newspaper published a Putin commentary in which the Russian leader painted himself as a peacemaker and lectured Washington for what he called a tendency to use "brute force" in international politics.

Many US members of Congress made clear they did not welcome the Russian leader's input into their debate over approving missile strikes in response to the apparent use of chemical weapons by Mr Putin's ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"I almost wanted to vomit," Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on CNN.

Mr McCain and Mr Menendez were among 10 members of the foreign relations panel who voted last week to approve a resolution authorizing President Barack Obama to use military force against Syria.