Beginning his three-day summit in Germany’s Bavarian Alps, Russian President Vladimir Putin was the target of ridicule by leaders of the Group of Seven as they sat around a table on Sunday.
Before leaders began discussions about the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine and his strategies to stabilize Russian assets, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked whether he should remove his jacket – or if he should “further clothes”. Must be taken off.”
“We all need to show that we are tougher than Putin,” he joked, prompting some laughter from his allies.
“We’re going to have a bare-chested equestrian demonstration,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
Photos released by Russian state media showed Putin shirtless, riding a brown horse, wearing army trousers, a gold chain and draped sunglasses.
Boris Johnson then pointed to the cameras behind the table.
“We’ll show them our pecs,” he said.
However, the meeting was not all humour.
Early on Sunday, Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, striking two residential buildings and killing at least one person.
The attack was the latest act of destruction in an invasion that killed thousands and forced millions from their homes.
The world’s response to the Russian aggression is set to be a major theme at the G7 summit, and US President Joe Biden has denounced Russia’s actions as “their greater barbarism”.
Meanwhile, Johnson urged leaders not to “fatigue”.
The leaders of Britain, Canada, Japan, France and the United States also discussed the commodity embargo and other ways to reaffirm Russia’s condemnation.
With files from Reuters
