Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Bad days? No, I’m not a woman, says Putin
Takes issue with opposite sex in Oliver Stone interviews
VLADIMIR Putin claims he never fails to perform at work because he is not a woman.
In a series of extraordinary interviews, the Russian president said women went through “natural cycles” that made them more emotional.
Putin also said he took tips from Fidel Castro on how to avoid assassination and admired Ronald Reagan for stopping work by 6pm every day.
The interviews were conducted by Hollywood director Oliver Stone, who asked: “Do you ever lose it? Ever had a bad day?”
Putin replied: “I’m not a woman so I don’t have bad days. I’m not trying to insult anyone. That’s just the nature of things.
“There are certain natural cycles which men probably have as well, just less manifested. We’re all human beings, it’s normal. But you should never lose control.”
The Russian leader said it was his duty to uphold traditional values and he opposed gay marriage because it did not produce children. Asked if gay people could adopt, Putin said: “I cannot say our society welcomes that.”
Russia has faced international outrage about its anti-gay laws and many of the LGBT people live in fear.
In the interviews, screened next week on US TV network Showtime, Putin accused Washington of having an imperialist mentality. He said the West reneged on a pledge after the fall of the Berlin Wall that the eastern border of Nato would stop at Germany’s eastern border.
In the interviews Putin described whistleblower Edward Snowden, who was granted asylum by Russia after fleeing the US, as a courageous and foolhardy man.
He joked that Russia was better than the US at surveillance because it did not have the same technology, suggesting its agents had to rely on their wits.
US intelligence agencies believe Russian hackers stole Democratic Party emails and leaked them to Wikileaks to help Donald Trump in the US election.
Former director of national intelligence James Clapper has said that Russia poses “an existential threat to the US “. But Putin said in the film: “Unlike many partners of ours, we never interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries.”
He said he admired Reagan, who he said was a “happy man, very well organised”.
Putin, who works out every day, said it had been a “great achievement” that the US president was able to stop work at 6pm each day and watch TV with his wife.
When Stone brought up personal security, Putin said he had spoken to Castro about assassination plots. Putin has survived at least five while the Cuban leader lived through around 50. – The Daily Mail