Romney ends tour with swipe at Russia
richards | July 31, 2012
WHITE House contender Mitt Romney has wrapped up a gaffe-prone tour in Poland with a swipe about the state of freedom in Russia - and a fresh blunder by an aide who told journalists to "kiss my ass". On his first visit behind the old Iron Curtain, the Republican challenger vowed his commitment to close ties with Poland, which still has a testy relationship with Moscow more than two decades after the fall of communism. Hailing his hosts as "an example and defender of freedom", Mr Romney said: "In Russia, once-promising advances toward a free and open society have faltered." Earlier this month, Mr Romney criticised President Barack Obama's administration for its "abandonment of friends" in a region still wary of Russia - a country he once described as America's "number one geopolitical foe".
