Henry Kissinger calls Putin 'patriot'

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has called Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the new Russian president, a Russian patriot, ITAR-TASS reports.

The US diplomat had an interview with CNN on Sunday and urged the population to see no plans against the US and its allies in Putin’s actions. Kissinger believes that Putin was offended by what happened in the 1990s.

Henry Kissinger was the US Secretary of State during Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, was one of the initiators of the Détente in relations of the US and USSR in the 1970s. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in signing the Paris agreement in the 1973, ending the war in Vietnam.

The legendary diplomat is now concentrating on writing memoirs, articles and books about foreign affairs and diplomacy.