Vladimir Putin says Western leaders would look “disgusting” if they undressed “above or below the waist.”
The Russian leader responded after G7 leaders mocked his taste for bare-chested photo shoots during the summit.
As they sat in on the talks, Boris Johnson joked that G7 leaders could take off their clothes to “show that we are tougher than Putin” amid tensions over Moscow’s military action in Ukraine.
Leaders should “show them our pectorals,” he said.
Canadian Justin Trudeau joined in and said they should do a “bare-chest riding show” – one of the Russian leader’s widely publicized athletic adventures.
Image: Vladimir Putin rides a horse in 2017
“Oh, yes,” added European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “It’s best to go horseback riding.”
On a visit to Turkmenistan, Putin was asked about Western leaders who joked about him.
He replied that, unlike him, Western leaders abuse alcohol and do no exercise.
“I don’t know how they wanted to undress, above or below the waist,” he said. “But I think it would be a disgusting view in any case.”
He noted that to look good “you need to stop abusing alcohol and other bad habits, exercise and exercise.”