Then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin rides a horse while traveling in the mountains of the Siberian Tyva region (also referred to as Tuva), Russia, Aug. 3, 2009. (Alexei Druzhinin/Pool Photo via AP, file)
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin shot back at Western leaders who mocked his athletic exploits, saying they would look “disgusting” if they tried to emulate his bare-torso appearances.
Putin made the comment during a visit to Turkmenistan early Thursday when asked about Western leaders joking about him at the G7 summit.
As they sat down for talks, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jested that G7 leaders could take their clothes off to “show that we’re tougher than Putin” amid Russia-West tensions over Moscow’s military action in Ukraine.
Canadian premier Justin Trudeau joked that Western leaders could try to match Putin’s naked torso pictures with a “bare-chested horseback riding display,” one of the Russian president’s widely publicized athletic adventures.
Speaking to reporters, Putin retorted that, unlike him, Western leaders abuse alcohol and don’t do sports.
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“I don’t know how they wanted to get undressed, above or below the waist,” he said. “But I think it would be a disgusting sight in any case.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson talks at Elmau Castle, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, June 26, 2022. (Martin Meissner/AP)
Putin noted that to look good “it’s necessary to stop abusing alcohol and other bad habits, do physical exercise and take part in sports.”
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