Russia’s Vladimir Putin says West is fomenting jihadi ‘blowback’

Moscow is criticized for weak support of the Arab Spring, and for actively backing Bashir al-Assad in Syria. But the Kremlin says its policies are consistent and the West is exporting revolt.

MOSCOW — Both Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister have lashed out at the West in recent days for pursuing what they regard as naive and incoherent Middle East policies.

The critique targets Western backing of anti-dictator rebellions in Libyaand Syria, which, as Mr. Putin tells it, only fuels the spreading flames of extreme Islamist insurrection, including the current war in Mali and last week’s terrorist strike on a gas complex in Algeria.

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