ANKARA, Dec 6 (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the final day Monday of a landmark visit to Turkey, lashed out at the West, accusing it of destabilizing the former Soviet Union by pushing its own interests in the name of promoting democracy.
Speaking to Russian reporters accompanying him, Putin said he would work with any leader that ultimately emerges in Ukraine or in any other part of the former Soviet Union.
"Only the people themselves, in any country in the world ... can determine their own destiny," Putin said. "We are ready to accept any wish of any people in the former Soviet territories, and we will work with any elected leader."
Putin, the first Russian president to visit Turkey in 32 years, also hailed improved ties with Ankara and laid to rest tensions that arose from mutual accusations of harboring terrorists.
"I would like to especially underline that the two countries' approaches on the struggle against terrorism are identical," Putin said after talks with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. "I would like to thank (Turkey) for the moral and political support they have extended to Russia's struggle against terrorism."
Moscow has accused Ankara of ignoring the activities of Chechen rebels in Turkey, where they enjoy popular support, while Ankara claims Kurdish rebels fighting the Ankara government have found safe haven on Russian soil.
While Putin said he would accept the outcome of the election, he lashed out at the West for its support for Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko who, he claimed, was in effect saying: "We will take power whatever happens."
Ukraine has renewed tensions between Moscow and Western capitals, with Russia concerned the West is seeking to expand its influence in the former USSR through democratic revolutions.
"We in Russia cannot support this sort of development ... even if someone wants to call that 'democracy'," Putin told Russian journalists.
He warned this would lead to new divisions with some countries "being dictated to by a kind but strict uncle telling them what conditions they will live under.
"And if they don't obey, they will be beaten with a rocket and missile club, as happened in Belgrade," Putin said, referring to the NATO war in the former Yugoslavia.
Putin said flourishing commercial ties between Turkey and Russia had resulted in the two countries' leaders forging a closer political relationship.
"The intense activities of businessmen from both sides and the millions of Russian tourists holidaying in Turkey impel the political leaders of both countries to further develop and strengthen ties," he said.
Bilateral trade has skyrocketed since the end of the Cold War and is expected to reach 10 billion dollars (7.5 billion euros) by the end of the year.
During the visit, Turkey and Russia signed six agreements and a joint declaration, which, among other things, stressed commitment to safety in the Bosphorus Strait, a major outlet for Russian oil.
The waterway that bisects Istanbul is congested with tankers, most carrying Russian oil and gas, and Turkey wants to limit traffic to minimize the chances of potentially disastrous accidents.
The declaration made no mention of alternative routes, nor the clashes between the views of Moscow, which wants a pipeline through northwestern Turkey to the Aegean to bypass the waterway, and Turkey, which favors a north-south pipeline from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.
Massive security measures that involved more than 3,000 policemen and threw Ankara traffic into a two-day snarl accompanied the visit, which end late Monday after Putin held talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
12/06/2004 21:24 GMT - AFP