President Vladimir Putin responded promptly to the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris with a telegram to French President François Hollande that condemned the “barbaric nature of terrorism, which challenges human civilization” and called for unity in the struggle against this “evil” (Kremlin.ru, November 14). These words sounded similar to the statement of United States President Barack Obama, who decried the “attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share” (Rbc.ru, November 14). Yet, there was one key difference between the two—Obama’s clear reference to common values, which his Russian counterpart notably avoided. This difference came into …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation