MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed indignation at Western media requests for Russian President Vladimir Putin to answer a spate of accusatory questions at a time when the sides are attempting to build dialogue.
According to Peskov, two prominent US and UK media outlets addressed Putin's administration earlier with 21 identical requests for comment on 1990s accusations of unethical relations with businesses and corruption that were leveled at him and his close associates. The publications made threats that they would presume the Russian leader's guilt if a response did not follow by a certain date, he added.
"I was jarred by the categorical tone and interrogative style of questioning," Peskov told reporters.
"It is of course curious that these requests are taking place, despite attempts to hold a dialogue and build relations in the face of existing disagreements to find ways out of the potential for conflict that, unfortunately, is not on a downward trend," Peskov said.
Relations between Russia and a number of Western nations have deteriorated since early spring 2014, following a referendum on the Black Sea Crimean peninsula to rejoin Russia and the subsequent conflict in southeast Ukraine.
The sharp slump in diplomatic ties comes at a time as both sides accuse each other's media of adopting a one-sided approach in the coverage of events relating to the Ukrainian conflict and the Crimean referendum.
