Russia criticises Prince Charles over reports he likened Putin to Hitler

MOSCOW - Reuters

This is a June 26, 2003 file photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, as he shares a limousine with Britain's Prince Charles in London, during a visit to Britain by Putin. AP Photo

Russia criticised Britain's Prince Charles on Thursday over reports that he likened President Vladimir Putin to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler for annexing part of Ukraine.
   
"If these words were truly spoken, then without doubt, they do not reflect well on the future British monarch," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told a news conference.
   
"We view the use of the Western press by members of the British royal family to spread the propaganda campaign against Russia on a pressing issue - that is, the situation in Ukraine - as unacceptable, outrageous and low," he said.
   
He said Russia has sent an official note to Britain seeking an explanation.
   
During a tour of Canada, the 65-year-old prince told a Jewish woman who fled Poland during World War Two that "Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler", according to a report in the Daily Mail newspaper.