World tired of US dictations: Vladimir Putin

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the world is tired of the United States’ dictations.    

"Sometimes it seems to me that America does not need allies, it needs vassals," The Nation quoted Putin, as saying.

Although he said Russia would like to be an ally of the United States, Putin insisted that “people are tired of the dictates of one country.”

Vladimir Putin dismissed calls to rerun a parliamentary election in a marathon phone call-in on Thursday and ignored most of the demands of protesters complaining of electoral fraud and demanding an end to his 12-year rule.

In a 4-1/2 hour call-in question-and-answer show, the prime minister held out the prospect of slightly easing his political control but shrugged off the significance of the biggest opposition protests since he rose to power in 1999 and deflected attention by criticising the West.       

"From my point of view, the result of the (parliamentary) election undoubtedly reflects public opinion in the country," Putin said.

"As for the fact that the ruling force, United Russia, lost some ground, there is also nothing unusual about this. Listen, we have gone through a very difficult period of crisis, and look at what is happening in other countries," he added.