G7 Summit leaders mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday over his infamous bare-chested pic atop a horse.
“Jackets on – jackets off …” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked other world leaders as he sat down at a roundtable at the summit in Germany, according to video.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau replied, “Let’s wait for the picture.”
Johnson shot back to laughter, “We all have to show we’re tougher than Putin.”
Trudeau quipped, “We’re going to get the bare-chested horseback-riding display.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “Oh, yes!
“Horseback riding is the best,” she said jokingly.
Johnson added cheekily, “We got to show them our pecs.”
The leaders were referencing a photo taken in 2009 that showed Putin riding a horse shirtless with a gold chain and sunglasses.
Putin has been photographed multiple times without a shirt on. In 2018, he defended the topless choice to Australian journalists, saying he “has no need to hide.
“When I am on vacation, I see no need to hide behind the bushes, and there is nothing wrong with that,” Putin told an Australian journalist.
Discussing more serious matters at the summit, the heads of the United States, England, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, joined by the EU president, discussed ways they could further punish Putin and Russia for sparking war with Ukraine in February.
Banning gold imports from Russia was a move the leaders proposed.
US President Joe Biden did not poke any fun at Putin but did condemn him for the latest round of missiles that were fired at Kyiv early Sunday.
“It’s more of their barbarism,” he said.
With Post Wires
