Last week, during a live televised debate on the EU between anti-EU UKIP leader Nigel Farage and pro-EU Liberal Democrats leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Farage accused the EU of having ‘blood on its hands’ for provoking Russia over Ukraine.
He said EU leaders had been ‘weak and vain’, adding: ‘If you poke the Russian bear with a stick he will respond.’
Now Mr Farage - who a poll last year said is the most popular party leader in Britain - has spoken of his admiration for Mr Putin.
Farage hailed the Russian President as a superb ‘operator’ who had succeeded in outwitting the West.
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?’
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.
Mr Farage’s praise for the Russian president was in stark contrast to his unflattering assessment of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
‘She is incredibly cold,’ he said. ‘I always say - I agree this is a bit rude - but whatever you think of the public image of Merkel, in private she is even more miserable. I warm to more extrovert people.’
Mr Farage’s praise for the Russian president was in stark contrast to his unflattering assessment of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
‘She is incredibly cold,’ he said. ‘I always say - I agree this is a bit rude - but whatever you think of the public image of Merkel, in private she is even more miserable. I warm to more extrovert people.’
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
31 March 2014
Daily Mail
Daily Mail
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has praised Putin's handling of the Syrian civil war as 'brilliant'
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 live televised debates 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 assault 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.
When asked who he admired politically, Mr Farage cited Putin, praising his strong political will and ability to outwit the West while defending his allies
Mr Farage’s praise for the Russian president was in stark contrast to his unflattering assessment of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
‘She is incredibly cold,’ he said. ‘I always say - I agree this is a bit rude - but whatever you think of the public image of Merkel, in private she is even more miserable. I warm to more extrovert people.’
Asked to say ‘something nice’ about the three major party leaders, the normally garrulous Mr Farage was almost lost for words, describing each of them as ‘nice’.
He said Mr Cameron was ‘a perfectly nice fellow who stands four-square for nothing,’ Mr Miliband a ‘nice chap, not very worldly - I would love to see him in a working men’s club in Newcastle’, while Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg - who took on Mr Farage in a TV debate last week - was a ‘very nice guy, just wrong’.
Asked who he would like to win the election, assuming Ukip does not, he replied: ‘I don’t care... If I was back in the London Metal Exchange I’d not give a toss, because 100 per cent of the legislation affecting me is made in Brussels.’
In a wide-ranging interview he also suggested he would like to become a US-style radio ‘shock jock’ when he eventually quite politics.
EU LEADERS' DEBATE - UKIP LEADER NIGEL FARAGE ACCUSED THE EU OF HAVING "BLOOD ON ITS HANDS" OVER CRIMEA:
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