McCain Gets Back at Putin in Pravda Op-Ed.

McCain Gets Back at Putin in Pravda Op-Ed.(MoscowNews)

U.S. Senator John McCain has responded to President Vladimir Putin's The New York Times op-ed, publishing an article titled "Russians deserve better than Putin" on the Russian news website Pravda.ru Thursday.

In his piece, McCain told readers that his usual criticism of their country doesn't mean that he is anti-Russian, but rather "more pro-Russian than the regime that misrules you today" adding that the authorities constantly "perpetuate their power and excuse their corruption."

The Republican senator went on to litany his problems with the Putin regime, including recent laws targeting NGOs and violating gay rights, criminal cases against opposition activists, Russia's poor judicial system and unfair elections.

"He has given you a political system that is sustained by corruption and repression and isn't strong enough to tolerate dissent," McCain wrote.

McCain's article was prompted by Putin's op-ed in The New York Times published last week, in which the Russian president cautioned the U.S. against a military intervention in Syria.

In response, McCain blamed Putin for allying with some of "the world's most offensive and threatening tyrants," such as Syrian President Bashar Assad.

McCain is also a vocal supporter of the Magnitsky Act that bans Russian officials implicated in human rights violations from coming to the U.S. and holding assets there. He said crimes against Sergei Magnitsky, the law's namesake who was arrested and died in prison shortly after uncovering a large corruption scheme, was a crime against the Russian people as a whole.

Updated: Putin would like to see Senator McCain at discussion club Valdai