Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the United States Thursday of stirring up protests against his 12-year rule and said foreign countries were spending hundreds of millions of dollars to influence Russian elections. In his first public remarks about daily demonstrations over allegations that Sunday's election was slanted to favour his ruling party, Putin said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had encouraged Kremlin opponents by criticising the vote. “She set the tone for some opposition activists, gave them a signal, they heard this signal and started active work,” Putin told supporters as he laid out plans for his campaign to return to the presidency in a March election. Citing the examples of Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution and the removal of governments in Kyrgyzstan – also a fellow former Soviet republic – that were accompanied by bloodshed, he said Western nations were spending heavily to foment political change in Russia. “Pouring foreign money into electoral processes is particularly unacceptable,” said Putin. “Hundreds of millions are being invested in this work. We need to work out forms of protection of our sovereignty, defence against interference from outside.” He added: “We have to think of ways to tighten accountability for those who carry out the aims of foreign states to influence domestic political processes.” Opposition groups have called for a mass protest near the Kremlin on Saturday. More than 26,000 people have signed up to a Facebook page on the protest. Meanwhile, Putin called for dialogue between the opposition and the authorities but said those who break the rules in demonstrations must face the consequences. “If somebody breaks the law then the security forces must implement the law with full legal means,” Putin said after three days of protests, Russian news agencies reported. But the authorities should nonetheless enter into dialogue with the opposition, he added.
