The Kremlin has distanced itself from the fake burger allegedly sold in a New York restaurant in honor of President Vladimir Putin’s 65th birthday on Saturday.
Ruptly, the video news service of Kremlin-backed RT, removed the video depicting the “Putin Burger” in Lucy’s Cantina Royale after independent journalist Alexei Kovalev debunked the story.
Ruptly issued a correction, stating: “The report was carried out by individual employees and not the restaurant itself, which, regrettably, compromised the accuracy of this video.”
“We in the administration are engaged in various matters,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call Monday, the state-run TASS news agency reported. “We haven’t gotten around to burgers yet.”
Peskov added that he was unaware of Putin’s reaction to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s birthday present — a duvet cover depicting them shaking hands.
The British brand Matchless unveiled a Putin-inspired leather bomber jacket on the president’s birthday, a fact that spoke to his “huge popularity and authority around the world," Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman stressed, however, that neither foreign nor Russian manufacturers seek Putin’s permission to use his image: “I’m not sure if the president knows that these products are issued abroad.”
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