The Russian embassy in Switzerland has legally threatened the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) after it published an article with an image of Vladimir Putin with a clown nose and rainbow streaks across his face.
In a press release published on its website on Sunday (local time), the embassy threatened legal action against the photo which was published on July 9, The Washington Post reported.
"We believe that freedom of speech is in no way compatible with the freedom to spread insults and fakes," the press release said.
The article accompanied by the image was titled Between Superheroes and Villains: The Power of Memes in the Ukraine Wars. The photo showed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in a Ukrainian flag-coloured superhero suit, standing next to Russian President Putin who had a clown nose and rainbow streaks across his face.
The embassy's press release also said it took offence to the rainbow makeup on Putin's face due to its connection with the LGBTQIA+ community, which the Russian President has been known to have an issue with, The Post reported.
"Putin is a deeply religious Orthodox person and advocates the preservation of traditional Christian values in Russian society."
The embassy's release also took a dig at Zelensky.
"If we are speaking about clownery, it would be much more appropriate to touch on this topic in the context of the recent past of the former Ukrainian comedian V Zelensky," it said.
