Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today accused the United States of orchestrating the recent Russian-Georgian war in South Ossetia in order to aid an unspecified presidential political candidate.

“U.S. citizens were indeed in the area of conflict,” Putin asserted in an interview with CNN. “They were acting in implementing those orders, doing as they were ordered, and the only one who can give such an order is their leader.” Putin declined to offer any material evidence of his claims. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino denied the allegations.

“To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a political candidate just sounds not rational,” she said.

According to CNN, Putin spoke with President Bush during the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games, but that he was “disappointed that the U.S. adminstration didn’t do more to stop Georgia early in the conflict.”

Today, various news outlets reported that U.S. and Russian military vessels have taken up defensive positions in several Georgian ports. The United Kingdom took similarly provocative measures today, calling upon the European Union and NATO to prepare for “hard-headed engagement” with Moscow following the Georgian crisis, according to the Financial Times.

In similar developments, the United States has expressed uncommon political appreciation to China for the country’s refusal to endorse Russia’s military intervention in South Ossetia.