ALMA ATA, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is in Tajik capital of Dushanbe on a visit, said Monday that the terrorist attacks in Iraq were aimed at preventing US President George W. Bush from being reelected.

    He said at a press conference that he considered the terror attacks in Iraq are aimed more at President Bush than at coalitionforces in a bid to prevent him from gaining a second term.

    He warned that if the terrorists achieve the goal, then that will provide a new impulse to international terrorism, leading to more attacks throughout the world.

    But the Russian president did not say which candidate he favors,stressing his country would respect the choice of US people in theNov. 2 presidential election, which pits Bush against Democrat John Kerry.

    In his speech, Putin reaffirmed his opposition to the US-led war on Iraq, saying "Russia was always against the military operation in Iraq."

    Putin arrived in Tajikistan Saturday for a summit on boosting security cooperation in the Central Asian region. He inaugurated aRussian military base in Tajikistan Sunday. Enditem