Kremlin asks US to explain accusations on Putin

MOSCOW -- Russia expects the top leadership of the United States to provide an explanation of "unacceptable" statements by US officials accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of corruption, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said 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," the RIA Novosti news agency 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 United States deteriorated over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and alleged involvement in the Ukraine crisis. There have also been disagreements between them on Syria.