Kremlin curious why US insists on its exclusiveness in world scene

The Kremlin finds it difficult to understand why the United States keeps asserting its exclusiveness in the international scene, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said in the wake of the White House statement concerning Vladimir Putin’s article the New York Times published last Thursday. “We find it difficult to understand why the United States keeps insisting on its exclusiveness. Democracy implies competition, but sometimes one has the impression that the United States has lost the habit of competing.” When he was writing his article, Peskov said, Putin “had no intention of entering into confrontation with anybody, let alone insulting somebody.” “In international affairs Putin has never lectured anybody. In the meantime over the past decade our American friends have developed the habit of slapping everybody on the shoulder condescendingly, which often formed the attitude to the United States in the world. Putin’s article addresses such issues as international relations and their basics,” Peskov said. “Any country that positions itself a democracy surely projects its internal processes on international relations. We expect everybody to do the same,” Peskov said.