(Moscow) The Kremlin on Tuesday defended a remark by Vladimir Putin who addressed to the Ukrainian president a comment interpreted by many Internet users and observers as a joke about rape.
Posted at 9:49
During his Monday press conference with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, the Russian President attacked Volodymyr Zelensky for being critical of elements of the peace plan in eastern Ukraine, negotiated in 2015 between Kiev and Moscow.
Whether you like it or not, my pretty, you will have to endure.
Vladimir Poutine,
The remark – in the form of a rhyme, in Russian – sparked a lively debate on the Russian-speaking web, with some, critics of Vladimir Putin, denouncing a remark legitimizing a rape, while others saw it rather as a way of scolding a child. or a reference to a naughty riddle from the Soviet era.
“The (Russian) president wanted to say that when a state agreed to take on obligations, it had to stick to it,” commented Russian presidency Dmitry Peskov.
Mr. Zelensky replied Tuesday at a press conference to Mr. Putin: “Ukraine is pretty, it’s true, but the use (of the personal pronoun) ‘my’ is too much”.
Then he assured that his country was above all “patient”. “Patience is a virtue” in the face of Russian “provocations”, he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who stood by his side, once again praised his counterpart’s “coolness”, as he had done the day before in front of Vladimir Putin.
The Russian head of state is accustomed to controversial remarks. For example, he compared his detractors to monkeys or noted that his number one opponent, Alexeï Navalny, who accuses the Kremlin of having poisoned him, would have died if that had been the case.