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A Plea for Caution From Russia
You do realize it is an opinion article right? 

Vladimir V. Putin is the president of Russia. Citizen Texas
Say what you will about the Russians and Mr. Putin in particular. This reaching out is unprecedented. Surely our country and our leaders cannot ignore this gesture from the Russian government. We, at the very least, should meet this offer in sincerity and in the hope, that something good and lasting will come of the discussions between our two nations. The stakes are far too high to let this moment over take either one of our nations. Put aside mistrust and bad feeling for the moment, and try find and do something positive for the world. The killing needs to stop. We really can live in peace with each other if only we would really try.

Chris McMorrow Waltham, Mass
I wish I could feel that Mr. Putin was being sincere here. If nothing else, he has a fabulous writer.

B Henly New York
Putin has consistently given the US sound advice, including on Afghanistan. I happen to believe he is also doing the Obama administration a favor by keeping Edward Snowden quietly in Russia, thereby avoiding the media circus and political distractions that would result from having him in jail on US soil. Having Putin in effect lecture us on our mistakes may stick in the craw of some Americans, but he happens to be right in this case, in spite of his own faults.

Lynn Nadel Tucson
Its perhaps sad for us Americans when the President of Russia makes more sense than our own political class. He hit the nail directly on the head with his analysis of American exceptionalism. While not denying that the American idea, as embodied in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, is exceptional, it is also the case that much has happened in the 200+ years since we started, and that as a country we are very far from the 'perfect union' envisioned. Our sense of exceptionalism, pandered to by all political parties, provides an excuse for meddling in other countries' affairs, and for refusing to look beyond our borders for good ideas about such things as health care, maternal leave policies, and more. If we were doing extremely well in these areas perhaps our exceptional claims would stand up, but who is willing to make that argument now.

Chances are the reaction to these words from President Putin will be ignored, or even outright rejected -- but I hope our own President Obama, whom I greatly admire, will use this opportunity to recalibrate how Americans see the world. We indeed are exceptional, but so are the Norwegians, and the French, and the Peruvians, and just about every culture that has carved out its own part of our universe. There is certainly evil in the world, but it cannot be the job of any one country to police the world, and to impose its ideas about how things should and should not be everywhere on this multi-cultural planet.

George San Jose, CA
Mr Putin makes many points, some I disagree, some I agree. But all are perfectly valid concerns. I commend Mr Putin for contributing to the discussion.

resident alien DC
Putin's comments about the danger of preaching American exceptionalism may have been irrelevant to the immediate issue but they are important. I was born in the UK. When I was young we Brits believed we were exceptional too, and most other nationalities were flawed (couldn't fight, couldn't produce etc). When kids grow up to believe through implication or actual teaching that they are superior to other peoples it affects how they view the world - after all military action against flawed nations does not matter so much. The fact the 4,000 Americans died in Iraq is apparently more important than the fact the 200,000 Iraqis died. It is fine for Obama to say that America is exceptional in the specific context of being the only country willing to take action to enforce international law and peace because that's true. But the US constitution states that we are born equal and that applies by the way to all people. To suggest that Americans are superior overall is dangerous because it leads to misjudgments such as underestimating the costs of war to the World. That is highly relevant to this issue.

Viktor Pittsfield, MA
As a person that spent 3/4 of my life in the USSR-Russia I have to tell that the history of that country and even its existing state do not make me optimistic in evaluating its actions and intentions. The Communist regime killed many millions of their own citizens, and Chechen war took about 100,000 lives- fully comparable with deaths in Syria.
But, unfortunately, Mr. Putin is right in one, the most important thing: the USA believes in its exceptional role and the force to instill it on the world. America has only 5% of total world population and cannot be a world gendarme forever. Worse, most of Americans, and even our government, do not understand deeply, or at all, national, religious, ethnic, historical and cultural specifics of other nations and tribes, so many of US international actions are useless or even counter-productive. That Russia also got defeated in Afghanistan is not a good solace to our situation in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I do not believe that any limited strike could change the Syria situation to better, rather opposite. So, we have to be more cautious here and, choosing our actions, work with our nations even we do not like them.

AR Chicago
Quite possibly, Putin's intended audience is not the American people, but the citizens of the rest of the world. He wants to be their hero -- standing up to the US, pointing out our hypocrisy.

I don't trust Putin, but I think he is exploiting a weakness that the US needs to correct, namely, that we are far too mired in self-delusional, campaign-style spin -- even on the international stage, e.g. that we'd be welcomed as liberators in Iraq, that President Obama's Syria strategy was a high-level chess game and played out exactly the way he planned.

But foreign policy isn't like campaigning. We have to use logic and earned respect (gravitas) to persuade other countries to join with us on matters such as Syria. We have to marshal our knowledge of their particular cultures and political sensibilities. We can't just go around lecturing people about why don't they care more about the poor Syrian children. The Times editorial department was approached Wednesday by an American public relations firm that represents Mr. Putin, offering the piece.  Also on Wednesday, Mr. Putin’s spokesman, in the course of an interview about Syria, mentioned to The Times’s Moscow bureau chief Steven Lee Myers that an article was in the works.
Mr. Rosenthal agreed to review the article and quickly decided to publish it. It was posted on the Times Web site by Wednesday evening.
“I thought it was well-written, well-argued,” he said. “I don’t agree with many of the points in it, but that is irrelevant.”
“Syria is a huge story and Putin is a central figure in it,” giving the piece great news value, he said. It has created a major stir, including plenty of criticism. Richard Murphy of Fairfield, Conn., wrote to me Thursday with harsh words for The Times’s decision to publish it. He described himself as “horrified” and said that The Times was “aiding and abetting a long-term foe of the United States.”
Mr. Rosenthal rejects that argument.
“There is no ideological litmus test” for an Op-Ed article, he said. In addition, he said, it is not the purpose of the Op-Ed pages to help or hurt the American government. It is to present a variety of interesting and newsworthy points of view, at least some of which will be contrary to The Times’s own point of view, expressed in its editorials.
The Times has published very few Op-Ed pieces by heads of state, Mr. Rosenthal said, partly because they have their own ways of getting their messages out.
This was different, he said, because “everyone wants to hear from Putin right now” and this article was “fascinating and detailed,” providing new information.
I asked him about Mr. Putin’s statement that there is “every reason to believe” that the poison gas has been used by opposition forces, not the Syrian government – which many now do not believe to be true. Mr. Rosenthal said that “falls into the category of opinion.”
Mr. Rosenthal said there was no way of knowing whether Mr. Putin himself wrote the article – “with a public official you can never know,” because they tend to have staffers who write their speeches and other communications. But, he said, it needed virtually no editing and went through almost no changes. “It was an amazingly good translation,” he said.
The public relations firm that pitched the Putin article to The Times was Ketchum, as others, including Rosie Gray from BuzzFeed, reported Thursday. The relationship between Ketchum and Russia was explored by ProPublica, the investigative reporting organization, last year. In a recent ProPublica post, Justin Elliott summarizes the new developments and recaps what was reported earlier, including that Ketchum received $1.9 million from Russia in the first half of this year
The Washington Post’s foreign affairs blogger, Max Fisher, fact-checked and commented Thursday on the Putin Op-Ed, characterizing it as fascinating, but containing “undeniable hypocrisy and even moments of dishonesty.”   Times readers would benefit from a similar examination.  And a Guardian story reported that, according to his spokesman, Mr. Putin wrote most of the article himself with contributions from his staff. Will St Paul, MN
I have no qualms about your publishing the letter. However, I am absolutely aghast that so many or your readers fail to comprehend the multiple layers of propaganda buried within it.

Putin is not a neutral player in the Syrian civil war -- the Russian government is operationalizing the Assad forces.

Putin's goal is to defend a strategic ally, and as the Balkans showed, Russian governments have a tradition of standing on shaky moral grounds to defend their few allies -- including trotting out the famous Russian belief in "non-interference."

Russia plays a hugely diminished role internationally, compared to the grand ideological struggles of the 20th Century that Putin references.

And the idea that Vladimir Putin is somehow the conscience of the world is so preposterous that my mind reels when I read comments about his "reasonable" and "moderate" approach to diplomacy.

How could so many of your readers be so deluded about Putin's motives?

Please, for the sake of journalistic balance and of educating your readership, provide some context here.

I would strongly surmise that one of the many reasons this country has so little respect in the world anymore is because of the attitude that this countries government and citizens are constantly shoving down everyone's throats; "It's our way or the highway!" "We are the greatest people in the history of the world." By implication, all that really means is everyone else in the world is inferior to us. "We are the greatest country in the world." Not any more we're not. We gave that up, if we ever had it at all when we started torturing people and water boarding them and throwing them in prison with no trails. Spying on and lying to the American public and to the rest of world doesn't exactly help that "great" image either.
We are not always right. Simple fact. We've lost the ability as a country to really help others, feel any compassion anymore, unless there is something in it for us. If we are so great and perfect, why do we have people in this country going to bed every night hungry?
We have become a country of haves and have not's. Rich against poor. We need to take a long hard look in the mirror and decide if what we are looking at is really that great anymore. I for one don't think so.

S Brooks Chicagoland Suburbs
I had to smile when noticing one of the reader comments that referenced the fact that president Putin held a key position with the KGB and implied that he could never be trusted. I guess the poster is too young to remember that George H Bush was the director of our very own CIA before being elected president of the United States.

Guilt by association is always a risky charge, but it does make for great talking points.

mark22660 Vermont
All this Putin bashing by readers of The New York Times is embarrassing. He's an ex-KBG agent, I'll give you that. He's against gay people and I'll give you that too, but for years this country was as well and there are many who still are.
We also must remember that Bush Sr. had been the head of the CIA, yet we trusted him, even as we went into Panama and slaughtered hundreds upon hundreds of women, children and babies ourselves, while being fed misleading information and lies about why we actually went in and then kept in the dark by the coverup that followed. Bush Jr. did the same in Iraq only this count was over a million of the innocent and Obama continues this tradition to this day in Somalia and Yemen with indiscriminate drone strikes. Most have no idea of this because it's conveniently never reported on. So to come out and make the argument about Putin being ex-KGB or the atrocities that are being committed by the Syrian government is ludicrous and shows that you haven't done your homework and therefore have no real understanding in regards to what our own country has become.We no longer stand for truth or justice and the American way has become a fallacy. We have become the evil doers. We have become a terrorist organization. Today, attempting to report the truth, journalists find themselves becoming enemies of the state or worse, the fear of government retaliation under what I refer to as The Micheal Hastings Act.
This country is not even close to being exceptional

Shark New York, NY
at 18:10 Senator John McCain said...

Russians deserve better than Putin

When Pravda.ru editor, Dmitry Sudakov, offered to publish my commentary, he referred to me
as "an active anti-Russian politician for many years." I'm sure that isn't the first time Russians
have heard me characterized as their antagonist. Since my purpose here is to dispel
falsehoods used by Russia's rulers to perpetuate their pow er and excuse their corruption, let
me begin w ith that untruth. I am not anti-Russian. I am pro-Russian, more pro-Russian than the
regime that misrules you today.
I make that claim because I respect your dignity and your right to self-determination. I believe
you should live according to the dictates of your conscience, not your government. I believe
you deserve the opportunity to improve your lives in an economy that is built to last and
benefits the many, not just the pow erful few . You should be governed by a rule of law that is
clear, consistently and impartially enforced and just. I make that claim because I believe the
Russian people, no less than Americans, are endow ed by our Creator w ith inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
A Russian citizen could not publish a testament like the one I just offered. President Putin and his associates do not believe in these values.
They don't respect your dignity or accept your authority over them. They punish dissent and imprison opponents. They rig your elections.
They control your media. They harass, threaten, and banish organizations that defend your right to self-governance. To perpetuate their
pow er they foster rampant corruption in your courts and your economy and terrorize and even assassinate journalists w ho try to expose
their corruption.
They w rite law s to codify bigotry against people w hose sexual orientation they condemn. They throw the members of a punk rock band in
jail for the crime of being provocative and vulgar and for having the audacity to protest President Putin's rule.
Sergei Magnistky w asn't a human rights activist. He w as an accountant at a Moscow law firm. He w as an ordinary Russian w ho did an
extraordinary thing. He exposed one of the largest state thefts of private assets in Russian history. He cared about the rule of law and
believed no one should be above it. For his beliefs and his courage, he w as held in Butyrka prison w ithout trial, w here he w as beaten,
became ill and died. After his death, he w as given a show trial reminiscent of the Stalin-era and w as, of course, found guilty. That w asn't
only a crime against Sergei Magnitsky. It w as a crime against the Russian people and your right to an honest government - a government
w orthy of Sergei Magnistky and of you.
President Putin claims his purpose is to restore Russia to greatness at home and among the nations of the w orld. But by w hat measure has
he restored your greatness? He has given you an economy that is based almost entirely on a few natural resources that w ill rise and fall
w ith those commodities. Its riches w ill not last. And, w hile they do, they w ill be mostly in the possession of the corrupt and pow erful few .
Capital is fleeing Russia, w hich - lacking rule of law and a broad-based economy - is considered too risky for investment and
entrepreneurism. He has given you a political system that is sustained by corruption and repression and isn't strong enough to tolerate 

How has he strengthened Russia's international stature? By allying Russia with some of the world's most offensive and threatening
tyrannies. By supporting a Syrian regime that is murdering tens of thousands of its ow n people to remain in pow er and by blocking the
United Nations from even condemning its atrocities. By refusing to consider the massacre of innocents, the plight of millions of refugees,
the growing prospect of a conflagration that engulfs other countries in its flames an appropriate subject for the world's attention. He is not
enhancing Russia's global reputation. He is destroying it. He has made her a friend to tyrants and an enemy to the oppressed, and
untrusted by nations that seek to build a safer, more peaceful and prosperous world.
President Putin doesn't believe in these values because he doesn't believe in you. He doesn't believe that human nature at liberty can rise
above its weaknesses and build just, peaceful, prosperous societies. Or, at least, he doesn't believe Russians can. So he rules by using
those weaknesses, by corruption, repression and violence. He rules for himself, not you.
I do believe in you. I believe in your capacity for self-government and your desire for justice and opportunity. I believe in the greatness of
the Russian people, w ho suffered enormously and fought bravely against terrible adversity to save your nation. I believe in your right to
make a civilization worthy of your dreams and sacrifices. When I criticize your government, it is not because I am anti-Russian. It is
because I believe you deserve a government that believes in you and answers to you. And, I long for the day w hen you have it. Congressman Steve Israel of New York said...

An Open Letter to the People of Russia

I am a Member of the United States Congress who may find myself in the position of having to vote on whether to authorize the use of force in Syria. My grandparents were born in Russia, so for me, the relationship between our countries is not just about policy; it is about my family history.

That is why I was so fascinated to read President Putin’s op-ed in the New York Times opposing the potential of a limited military strike with the goal of degrading Syria’s chemical weapons capability. When my grandparents lived in Russia, the prospect of your leader using our cherished freedom of press in America would have been unfathomable.

In the same spirit, may I address you, the people of Russia?

My objective has always been focused on one thing: deterring and degrading Syria's chemical weapons capabilities. The news of your president’s call for Syria to relinquish its chemical weapons is a positive development and, as I’ve said repeatedly, diplomacy should always be the first preference. However, if diplomacy proves to not be an option, I believe the U.S. must degrade and deter the further use of chemical weapons, without boots on the ground and in a limited, focused and swift way.

Here is why:

First, because Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons repeatedly, and with each new attack that went unanswered by the international community, more innocent men, women, and children were murdered. The gassing of civilians on August 21, resulting in the death of more than 400 children, is the culmination of Assad’s crimes. I encourage you to watch the videos of the aftermath of the August 21 use of chemical weapons in Syria if your government allows you access. Without a firm response and in the absence of an international agreement, Assad will feel emboldened to continue gassing people and murder even more innocents.

Second, because we don't want Syria’s chemical weapons to fall into the wrong hands -- including some elements of the rebel forces in Syria. This isn't about one side or the other in Syria's civil war. This is about minimizing the chances that any side uses chemical weapons.

Third, it is imperative that we reinforce our message to Hezbollah, Iran and North Korea that there will be consequences should either of them ignore decades of international law and opt to use chemical weapons.

Finally, let me address President Putin's opposition to the notion of American exceptionalism. As an American, I hold the exceptionalism of my country dear. I also know of the many exceptional achievements our two countries made together, such as defeating Nazism and discovering Space.

If your leaders are serious about truly creating a regimen to control and contain chemical weapons in Syria under international supervision in a transparent, verifiable and effective way, then we will be able to add this to the latest example of exceptional achievements partnered by our two nations.

Your President has told the United States that he is interested in doing this. Now we await his words turning into deeds.