Vladimir Putin hit out at Liz Truss in a major speech on Thursday, claiming she must have been “a bit out of it” when she expressed concerns over Russia’s nuclear power.
The Russian president was criticising the former prime minister after she raised concerns about nuclear weapons earlier this year.
Truss told the UN General Assembly that she thought Putin’s nuclear threats were “sabre-rattling” in September. The month before that, during a hustings for the Tory leadership contest, Truss also said she was “ready” to press the nuclear button if she had to.
Putin then seemed to respond during a live, televised debate called “A Post-Hegemonic World: Justice and Security for Everyone”.
He claimed he “never said anything proactively about possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia”, adding: “We only hinted in response to statements made by Western leaders.”
Pointing to Truss, Putin continued: “She said that the UK is a nuclear power and the prime minister has in her mandate, the use of a nuclear weapon, and no-one responded in any way.”
“She just made a folly, she was a bit out of it,” he added. “But can you say these things publicly?”
He said Washington should have corrected Truss after these comments.
“What should we do in response, pretend we haven’t heard anything?”
It’s not the first time Moscow has gone after Truss. Back when she was the foreign secretary under Boris Johnson, Truss went to Russia in a bid to talk it out of war in Ukraine back in early February.
However, things did not go well. Russia’s top diplomat described talks with her as like conversations between “the mute with the deaf”.
Sergei Lavrov said they had no mutual ground and that the talks contained “nothing secret, no trust, just slogans shouted from the tribunes”.
Truss also allegedly confused different regions of Russia with Ukrainian territory, and the British ambassador had to step in to correct her. It came just days after she confused the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, which Ukraine borders.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson said at the time: “If anyone needs saving from anything, it’s the world from the stupidity and ignorance of British politicians.”
The Russian president also extended his criticisms to the West as a whole during his speech on Thursday.
He claimed Ukraine’s allies were playing a “dangerous, dirty and deadly game” in Ukraine.
He also stuck by his claim that Russia’s unprovoked invasion is a “special military operation”, the name he has used to describe the war since it began in February.
“We were not the ones to organise a coup d’etat in Ukraine which resulted in our special military operations. We are not the ones who did it.
“It’s the West that has driven us to this point. I advocate democratic relations.”
He also said: “We tried to set up relations with the West and Nato, to make friends with them, but the West imposes sanctions against those who don’t want to be under their thumb.”
In response to Putin’s comments, foreign secretary James Cleverly tweeted: “Putin’s message to the Russian people is unclear, untrue and unedifying.
“What is crystal clear is our message to the world: Aggressors must not be able to invade their neighbours with impunity.
“We will resolutely support Ukraine in its fight for freedom and democracy.”