Putin Mocked G7 Leaders' Topless Photo Idea & Said It'd Be 'Disgusting' To See Them Naked
But bare-chested horseback riding is OK. 🤷
G7 leaders in Germany. Right: Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wasn't happy to hear the G7 leaders joking about his topless horseback-riding photos, and he suggested on Thursday that it'd be "disgusting" to see all those politicians with their clothes off.
The Russian leader was responding to a moment at the G7 summit earlier in the week when U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested that everyone at the meeting should take off their clothes to "show that we're tougher than Putin."
"Can we take our clothes off?" Johnson asked as the group prepared for a photo op.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau then jumped on the idea and suggested that they all go "bare-chested" for the photo op, just to shade Putin for his topless horseback pics.
"We've got to show them our pecs," added Johnson.
\u201cG7 leaders laughed at Putin\n\nDuring #G7 meeting, leaders joked whether it would be advisable to take off their jackets or even be more naked in order to oppose "formidable" and "tough" image of Putin.\n\nJustin Trudeau added:"We will arrange a ride on horseback with bare-chested."\u201d— NEXTA (@NEXTA) 1656270890
Putin was asked about the comment during a visit to Turkmenistan on Thursday, and he was pretty ruthless with his reply.
"I don't know how they wanted to get undressed, above or below the waist," he said, according to the Associated Press. "But I think it would be a disgusting sight in any case."
Putin added that it's a good idea to lay off the alcohol and get plenty of exercise in what might've been a dig at a few of the G7 leaders.
Putin used to be part of those meetings when it was called the G8 summit, but he was booted out of the club after invading Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014.
Putin launched a wider invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, and that put him at the top of the G7 agenda once again this week.
The leaders of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Japan pledged at the meeting to look for more ways to punish Russia economically for its invasion.
"There is only one way out: for Putin to accept that his plans in Ukraine will not succeed," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters, according to Reuters.
"We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," the group added in a joint statement after the summit.