WASHINGTON – Russian President Vladimir Putin kept up his war of snark with President Obama on Friday by mockingly suggesting that the president find another line of work.
“Why doesn’t he get a job in a court or something?” Putin sneered in an interview with CNBC in St. Petersburg, saying Obama has no right to judge Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
Putin piled on the West by saying the US had backed a coup d’etat in Ukraine, even though Russia received widespread Western condemnation for annexing Crimea this spring.
He blamed Western “snobbery” for the crisis, and said the West caused “chaos and a full-scale civil war” in Ukraine.
“They supported the coup and plunged the country into chaos, and now they try to blame us for that and have us clean up their mess,” he whined in his speech and interview at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
And he called US and European sanctions against Russia — leveled to try to protest the annexation of Crimea and prevent further land grabs by Moscow — an effort to hand the US an economic edge.
“Maybe the Americans, who are quite shrewd, want to win a competitive edge over Europe by insisting on introducing sanctions against Russia?” Putin wondered aloud.
It’s just the latest example in a long line of antagonistic rhetoric between the two leaders. Obama last year famously mocked Putin for his demeanor at summit meetings, saying, “He’s got that kind of slouch, looking like the bored kid in the back of the classroom.”
Despite his confrontational words, Putin pledged to recognize the outcome of Ukraine’s presidential elections this weekend.
The country has been governed by interim leadership since former President Viktor Yanukovich left the country amid mass street protests.
“Of course we will cooperate with the newly elected head of state,” Putin said.
Putin also defended his country’s role in harboring NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
“Russia is not a country that is ready to extradite fighters for human rights,” he said, winning applause from an outdoor crowd.