Boehner Calls Putin a Thug

 (Bloomberg) -- House Speaker John Boehner called Russia’s President Vladimir Putin “a thug” and urged the Obama administration to do more to safeguard the interests of the U.S. and its allies in Europe.
Boehner, an Ohio Republican, accused Putin of treating Russia’s neighbors in a “disrespectful way.” The lawmaker said in an interview on NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” that he hasn’t met the Russian leader and doesn’t want to. President Barack Obama “ought to stand up to him and better protect America’s interests and our allies, especially in Eastern Europe,” Boehner said in the interview, which was broadcast overnight in the U.S.

 “I don’t believe that such a high-ranking lawmaker could have said such a thing,” Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said in a telephone interview. Boehner said in the interview that it “may or may not be true” that former government contractor Edward Snowden may have worked with Russia in exposing classified U.S. spying programs, as asserted by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican. “All I can say is that I think Snowden is traitor to the country,” Boehner said. Snowden, who faces theft and espionage charges for leaking classified documents to the press last year, is residing in Russia under temporary asylum.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/Boehner-Calls-Putin-a-Thug-Urges-Obama-to-Defend-5171972.php