TODAY: Putin’s three-hour interview both “pugilistic and needy”; Medvedev focuses on military; confusion over South Ossetia’s aims; ongoing tension over Georgia affecting UN debates. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave a three-hour interview yesterday during which he “turned the air blue”, joking about his sharing of power with President Dmitry Medvedev, defending the invasion of Georgia and denying that the Kremlin has imperial visions. He also criticized the UK for providing refuge to Russian dissenters, and warned the West that the planned US missile defense shield would start an arms race. His tone alternated between “pugilistic and needy,” says the New York Times. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in Poland to protest its planned US-backed missile defense base. Medvedev says that Russia is prepared to cooperate with the US in the fight against terrorism, and is talking about Russia’s need to modernize its military.