{mosads}The Massachusetts lawmaker went on to say it was “an enormous mistake to push Russia away and to make it the enemy that it is not today.”

“I think there are ways for us to actually be much more cooperative with Russia on a number of issues,” Kerry said.

Romney was similarly criticized by former Secretary of State Colin Powell earlier this week during an interview with CNN.

“Foe means enemy,” Powell said. “Will we have differences of opinion with the Russians? Yes. Will they get mad at us from time to time, and we get mad at them? That’s part of the normal diplomatic relations.”

Powell also admonished Romney for listening to advisers who were “quite far to the right,” saying he ought to give his advice “a second thought.”

Later in the interview, Kerry said he didn’t believe the United States should cut aid to Pakistan after the country imposed a 33-year sentence on a doctor who aided the United States in its hunt for Osama bin Laden.

“I think it would be a mistake right now to cut aid. Again I think you need to leave the diplomatic space here to continue discussions. I had a long talk with President [Asif Ali] Zardari this week when he was in Chicago. My hope is that there is a way forward here over the course of the next weeks to be able to get this relationship into a better place. There is no question that it is a very fragile relationship right now. The sentence obviously is egregious,” Kerry said.

Kerry also handicapped the presidential race, saying the election would provide “an extraordinarily clear choice.”

“Romney wants to reduce even more the available revenue to deal with a crisis for our country economically. I can’t think of anything more irresponsible than that. And so I think the choices between the President who inherited the worst economic situation since the Great Depression, who has made very tough decisions, you look at General Motors today, soaring,” Kerry said.