Vladimir Putin has taunted Western leaders over their lack of machismo, saying it would be 'disgusting' to see them naked. The Russian president was responding to jokes made at his expense during the G7 summit, where British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had joked about taking their clothes off.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had suggested that Western leaders should emulate Putin's bare-chested horseback riding display. Putin hit back, body-shaming his foes and telling reporters: 'I don't know exactly how far they wanted to get undressed, above or below the waist.'
Johnson refused to engage with Putin's comments when asked about them at the NATO summit in Madrid. Instead, he said: 'He should think about the consequences of his barbaric actions, the way his invasion has actually brought the West together.'
Putin claimed that, unlike him, Western leaders abused alcohol and did not do sports. A martial arts black-belt and fitness fanatic, he said: 'One must have both a body and a spirit harmoniously developed. But to achieve harmony, you must stop abusing alcohol and other bad habits, and do sports.'
Russian TV channel Zvezda put out Putin's comments under the file name: 'DISGUSTING NAKED OLD MEN.' Johnson's deputy spokesman responded: 'I haven't seen those specific comments but again our focus is continuing to support Ukraine.'
