Defending Putin

Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s lawyer Robert Amsterdam has written a defence of Vladimir Putin in the Litvinenko poisoning case:

All those suspected for responsibility behind this attack in London will face the full onslaught of a Scotland Yard investigation. Hasty assertions about Vladimir Putin’s guilt are not only inappropriate, but may well backfire. These statements give great play to the arguments of Kremlin hardliners who have been telling Vladimir Putin that he cannot trust his European neighbors; that Europeans are deeply Russophobic; that he must stand apart as an independent center of power in the world. Mr. Putin may well be convinced that he has nothing left to lose in terms of his reputation in the West – and then matters will certainly take a turn for the worse.

See also: Nevzlin: Yukos Connection in Litvinenko's Murder