Kremlin asks US to explain graft accusations against Putin

Russia expects the top leadership of the US to provide an explanation of "unacceptable" statements by its officials accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of corruption, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"We find the statement of my colleague in the White House unacceptable from the point of view of the general practice of international relations, and from the point of view of bilateral Russian-American relations. We believe this statement is outrageous and offensive," Xinhua quoted Peskov as saying.

"We will wait for some further explanations on the part of the supreme leadership of the United States," Peskov said.

Earlier this week, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) published a video showing US Department of Treasury official Adam Szubin accusing Putin of being involved in alleged large-scale corruption.

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Szubin's statement "best reflected" the opinion of the US administration.

Peskov said the personal insults against the Russian president are "signs of weakness and impotence," as well as attempts to undermine Russia's diplomatic stances on various international affairs.

"But this will not affect either Putin or Russia in any way," he said.

Russia's relations with the US deteriorated over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and alleged involvement in the Ukraine crisis. There have also been disagreements between them on Syria.

--Indo-ASian News Service

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