Kremlin Demands Explanation for ‘Outrageous’ U.S. Remarks About Putin

Source: New York Times

MOSCOW — Statements by two senior American officials that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has enriched himself through corruption are “outrageous and insulting,” Dmitry S. Peskov, the president’s spokesman, said on Friday.

Adam J. Szubin, the Treasury Department’s acting secretary for terrorism and financial crimes, said in an interview broadcast by the BBC this week that Mr. Putin was a “picture of corruption,” using state funds to enrich his closest friends while disguising his own wealth.

Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, backed up that position, saying that the Treasury’s assessment “best reflects the administration’s view.”

Mr. Peskov accused the Obama administration of trying to lay the groundwork to influence the outcome of Russia’s next presidential election, in 2018, by attacking the Russian leader. “It is clear that negative stuff is being accumulated, negative stuff with regard to the head of our state,” Mr. Peskov told the Interfax news agency. “It is certainly being used to put pressure and exert influence over the course of the election campaign.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/30/world/europe/vladimir-putin-russia-us.html