The Russian president said that Western leaders abuse alcohol and do not play sports.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin responded bluntly on Thursday to Western leaders who earlier at the G7 meeting mocked Putin’s numerous appearances in topless photos.
In Putin’s opinion, Western leaders would look “nauseating” without a shirt.
– I don’t know how they would like to undress, above or below the waist. But I think it would be a nauseating sight anyway, Putin told reporters, according to the AP news agency.
The president expressed his views during his visit to Turkmenistan when asked to comment on what he thinks of Western leaders joking at his expense.
At the G7 meeting on Sunday, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mocked Putin’s image as a tough man, says online publication Politico (you are moving to another service). Johnson said the G7 leaders could take off their clothes to show they are tougher than Putin.
Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau added that Western leaders could respond to Putin’s shirtless photos by staging a “bare-chested horse-riding show.”
At a press conference in Turkmenistan, Putin said that Western leaders abuse alcohol and do not play sports, unlike him.
He added that if you want to look good, “you have to give up alcohol abuse and other bad habits and exercise and play sports.”
The Kremlin has repeatedly published pictures of Putin shirtless. He has been seen shirtless, among other things, fishing, riding and swimming in ice-cold water.