Hillary Rodham Clinton may need to get her “reset” button back from Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov. The former secretary of state had some choice words Thursday for Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“There are obvious exceptions — very difficult to build relationships with some people,” Mrs. Clinton said in response to a question about building a good rapport with international leaders.
“And I’m talking about you Vladimir,” she added, stressing that it was nevertheless important to “keep trying,” Business Insider reported.
The jab seemed to be in reaction to Mr. Putin’s statements from a week earlier, in which he said of Mrs. Clinton: “It’s better not to argue with women. … Ms. Clinton has never been too graceful in her statements. … When people push boundaries too far, it’s not because they are strong but because they are weak. But maybe weakness is not the worst quality for a woman.”
The Russia president was reacting to a comment by Mrs. Clinton in which she likened his actions in Crimea and Ukraine to those of Adolf Hitler. During the event, Mr. Putin added that he believed he would be able to come to an “agreement” with Mrs. Clinton on Ukraine if the situation presented itself.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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