President Putin: 'I am not the groom, Trump is not the bride'

Mr. Putin on September 5 did not specifically criticize his American counterpart but said Washington behaved badly when forcing Moscow to close its diplomatic facilities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference during the BRICS summit in China on September 5. Photo: Reuters

Attending a press conference within the framework of the BRICS summit taking place in China, Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday dismissed a "naive" question about whether he was disappointed with US President Donald Trump, AP reported.

According to the answer quoted by Russian news agencies, Mr. Putin replied that Mr. Trump "is not my bride and I am not his groom."

Asked how Russia would feel if President Trump were removed from office, Putin stressed that it would be "absolutely wrong" for Russia to discuss the internal political situation in the United States.

The Trump administration last week ordered the closure of three Russian facilities in the US, including the Russian consulate and two trade missions in New York and Washington. Responding to the incident, Mr Putin said the US had the right to do so but had “acted rudely”.

"It is difficult to discuss with people who confuse Austria with Australia," the Russian president said, referring to US President George W. Bush's mistake 10 years ago when he visited Sydney and called Australian soldiers Austrian soldiers. "America is truly a great country, a great people if it can tolerate such a large number of people with such low political culture."

Putin threatened on the same day to expel 155 US diplomats but has not yet done so. Moscow had previously demanded that the US reduce its diplomatic presence in Russia to 455 people by September 1, equal to the number of Russian diplomats in the US.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Putin has ordered the Foreign Ministry to sue the US government for confiscating Russian diplomatic properties in the US, according to Reuters.

Russia and the US have been engaged in a series of tit-for-tat actions since US President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats late last year. The Obama administration said it was responding to Russian interference in the US presidential election - an accusation Moscow denies.

According to VNE