Why I admire Putin, by Farage: Ukip leader praises Russian President as superb ‘operator’ who has outwitted the West

  • Ukip leader Nigel Farage has praised Russian President Putin
  • He said he didn’t approve of his politics, but personally admired him
  • He said his handling of the Syrian civil war had been ‘brilliant’
  • Russia was criticised for propping up tyrannical leader Bashar Al-Assad
  • Last year Al-Assad used poison gas against his own civilians

By Jason Groves

Published: 01:00, 31 March 2014 | Updated: 12:18, 31 March 2014

Nigel Farage has praised Putin's handling of the Syrian civil war as 'brilliant', despite the country propping up tyrant Bashar Al-Assad who gassed his own civilians, including children, last year

Nigel Farage has praised Putin’s handling of the Syrian civil war as ‘brilliant’, despite the country propping up tyrant Bashar Al-Assad who gassed his own civilians, including children, last year

 

Nigel Farage today names Vladimir Putin as a political hero, saying his handling of the brutal civil war in Syria has been ‘brilliant’.

In an extraordinary intervention, Mr Farage praised the thuggish Russian President as a superb ‘operator’ who had succeeded in outwitting the West.

The comments will reopen the row about the UK Independence Party leader’s outspoken views on foreign policy.

Asked which current world leader he most admired, Mr Farage told GQ magazine: ‘As an operator, but not as a human being, I would say Putin.

‘The way he played the whole Syria thing. Brilliant. Not that I approve of him politically. How many journalists in jail now?’

Last week Mr Farage sparked a furious row after claiming the European Union had ‘blood on its hands’ for provoking Russia over Ukraine.

He said he did not approve of Mr Putin’s annexation of Crimea, but said EU leaders had been ‘weak and vain’, adding: ‘If you poke the Russian bear with a stick he will respond.’

Russian state television said Mr Farage had ‘directly accused the EU of a coup d’état in Ukraine’, and suggested polls showed the majority of British people agreed with him.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who will hold the second of two debate on Europe with Mr Farage tomorrow, described his comments as ‘perverse’.

He added: ‘It shows quite how extreme people can be when their loathing of the EU becomes so all-consuming that they even end up siding with Vladimir Putin to make their point.’

The praise for Russia’s handling of the Syria crisis will raise fresh controversy, given Moscow’s role in propping up the hated regime of tyrant Bashar al-Assad.

Russia is even accused of assisting the supply of chemical weapons that were used by the Assad regime in a barbaric against innocent civilians, including children, last year.

 

However, even Russia’s harshest critics acknowledge Moscow then played a strong diplomatic hand to head off the threat of retaliatory strikes by the West on its ally.