Their mockery began with a suggestion to take their jackets off the table, and ended with a discussion of a photo of him topless riding a horse that had been published several years ago.
Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the conversation between the G7 leaders, which began with a proposal to take their jackets off the table and ended with a discussion of a photo of him riding a topless horse that was published several years ago.
"I don't know how they wanted to take off their clothes to the waist or below," Putin told reporters on Wednesday evening. "I think it would have been a disgusting sight in both cases."
The G7 leaders ridiculed the Russian president's image as a strongman during their meeting in Germany last Sunday, and joked about asking if they should just wear T-shirts or perhaps something less.
Do we keep jackets?
"Do we keep the jackets? Do we take them off?" asked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as they sat down at a table at Elmo Castle in Bavaria, where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosted the G7 summit.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested they wait for the official photo before they undress, but Johnson quipped: "We have to show we're stronger than Putin."
"We'll have a scene of a bare-breasted knight riding a horse," Trudeau said, referring to Putin's famous 2009 photo.
For her part, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that "riding a horse is the best", without commenting on the issue of clothing specifically.
"We have to show them our muscles," Johnson replied.
The Source
- Agencies