BERLIN: The leaders of the Group of Seven on Sunday (local time) mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin over his shirtless, bare-chested horse-riding picture.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau could be heard on a video joking about their impending photoshoot, reported The Hill.
“Jackets on? Jackets off? Shall we take our clothes off?” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked other leaders sitting around a table. “We all have to show that we’re tougher than Putin.”
“We’re going to get the bare-chested horseback riding display,” Trudeau quipped, referencing a widely shared photo of Putin.
“There you go! There you go! We’ve got to show them our pecs!” Johnson responded.
Putin has often appeared shirtless in images disseminated by the Kremlin. Putin’s predilection for going shirtless doing outdoor activities is part of his carefully crafted strongman image. The Russian president is also an accomplished Taekwondo practitioner, reported The Hill.
The G7 leaders, Johnson and Trudeau joked about Putin during the first day of the three-day G7 summit in the Bavarian Alps, reported The Hill.
Russia was kicked out of what was previously called the G8 in 2014 following its initial invasion of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. The current G7 nations include the US, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, France, and Japan.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden announced that the group will impose new import bans on Russian gold as a punishment for Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, reported The Hill. The US said that the G7 nations will ban the import of Russian gold with the aim of tightening sanctions screws on Moscow.
As the leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations gathered in the Bavarian Alps on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, President Joe Biden said, “Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia.”
Earlier as well, Biden tweeted, “The United States has imposed unprecedented costs on Putin to deny him the revenue he needs to fund his war against Ukraine. Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia.”
Notably, these measures were initially flagged by the United Kingdom. However, a senior US administration representative told reporters that the G7 will make an official announcement on the gold import ban on Tuesday.
A White House readout of Biden’s meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz indicated Ukraine was a main topic of conversation. “The leaders underlined their commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as their continued provision of military, economic, humanitarian, and diplomatic support to help Ukraine defend its democracy against Russian aggression,” the White House readout said.
“The leaders also discussed efforts to alleviate the impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine on global food and energy security,” added the release. (ANI)