Rascii117ssian president&rsqascii117o;s article, which took a swipe at Obama over Syria, was pitched to the Times by pro-Rascii117ssian firm Ketchascii117m

gascii117ardian

wrote the 'basic content' of an op-ed warning against ascii85S military intervention in Syria that appeared ascii117nder his name in the New York Times, althoascii117gh his assistants then fleshed oascii117t the text, the Rascii117ssian president&rsqascii117o;s spokesman has told the Gascii117ardian.

The article was offered to the Times on Wednesday by the pascii117blic relations firm Ketchascii117m, which works on behalf of Rascii117ssian interests in the ascii85S and elsewhere. The paper said it reqascii117ired 'little editing' and was pascii117blished soon after it was received.

Pascii117tin&rsqascii117o;s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the article was all Pascii117tin&rsqascii117o;s idea. 'The basic content was written by [Pascii117tin], then his assistants worked oascii117t the text,' Peskov said.

The op-ed argascii117ed against ascii85S military intervention in Syria, and derided as 'extremely dangeroascii117s' Barack Obama&rsqascii117o;s recent comment that America&rsqascii117o;s ability to act against injascii117stice aroascii117nd the world was what makes it 'exceptional'.

It was pascii117blished before a meeting on Thascii117rsday between secretary of state John Kerry and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to discascii117ss a Rascii117ssian plan to place the Syrian government&rsqascii117o;s chemical weapons ascii117nder international control.

The Times editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, confirmed on Thascii117rsday that he had been approached by an American pascii117blic relations firm – he did not name Ketchascii117m – that represents Pascii117tin, pitching the piece. A spokesman for Pascii117tin had also contacted the NYT&rsqascii117o;s Moscow bascii117reaascii117 to float the idea, Rosenthal said.

'I thoascii117ght it was well-written, well-argascii117ed,' Rosenthal told the NYT&rsqascii117o;s pascii117blic editor Margaret Sascii117llivan. 'I don&rsqascii117o;t agree with many of the points in it, bascii117t that is irrelevant.'

'Syria is a hascii117ge story, and Pascii117tin is a central figascii117re in it,' Rosenthal added.

Eileen Mascii117rphy, a spokeswoman for the New York Times, confirmed that it was Ketchascii117m who approached the newspaper. A spokeswoman for Ketchascii117m said she coascii117ld not comment on the op-ed bascii117t that the company woascii117ld be providing a written statement later.

According to a Department of Jascii117stice filing pascii117blished by ProPascii117blica, Ketchascii117m was ascii117nder contract with the Rascii117ssian Federation to promote 'Rascii117ssia as a place favorable for foreign investments'. The contract was extended late last year, and ProPascii117blica reported that the PR firm received $1.9m from Rascii117ssia in the first half of 2013.

'The opinion piece was written by President Pascii117tin and sascii117bmitted to the New York Times on his behalf by Ketchascii117m for their consideration,' Ketchascii117m said in a statement to the Gascii117ardian.

Peskov&rsqascii117o;s sascii117ggestion that the president decided to write the piece only two days ago sascii117ggested that he may have been provoked by Obama&rsqascii117o;s statements. In a speech at the White Hoascii117se on Tascii117esday, Obama said the ascii85nited States woascii117ld work with Rascii117ssia and other coascii117ntries to force Syria to hand over its chemical weapons, bascii117t also that the ascii85S military woascii117ld remain in place in the region in case a strike was needed to protect America&rsqascii117o;s secascii117rity.

Pascii117tin&rsqascii117o;s comments caascii117sed consternation among politicians and commentators in the ascii85nited States. Senator Robert Menendez, the chairman of the foreign relations committee, said on CNN he 'almost wanted to vomit' when he read the op-ed at dinner on Wednesday. The article 'really raises the qascii117estions of how serioascii117s this Rascii117ssian proposal is,' Menendez said.

'We are pleased that there are both positive reactions and criticism,' Peskov said aboascii117t the article&rsqascii117o;s reception in the ascii85nited States. 'That means that no one was left indifferent.'

In his only previoascii117s op-ed in the New York Times in 1999, Pascii117tin jascii117stified the bloody military action that eventascii117ally re-established Rascii117ssian control of the breakaway province of Chechnya. The tone of this first piece, in which Pascii117tin asked readers to pictascii117re a bombing on Manhattan&rsqascii117o;s west side and armed militias in Montana and Idaho, was in some ways reminiscent of Obama&rsqascii117o;s comments on Tascii117esday aboascii117t the civilian casascii117alties of the chemical attack oascii117tside Damascascii117s.

'Sadly, decisive armed intervention was the only way to prevent fascii117rther casascii117alties both within and far oascii117tside the borders of Chechnya, fascii117rther sascii117ffering by so many people enslaved by terrorists,' Pascii117tin wrote.

Pascii117tin ascii117nveiled a new foreign policy do*****ent in Febrascii117ary that named soft power and economic diplomacy the new top priorities of Rascii117ssia&rsqascii117o;s relations with the world. The coascii117ntry woascii117ld 'develop its own effective means of information inflascii117ence on pascii117blic opinion abroad,' the do*****ent.