The Hill News

Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, is riding high on the success of his country’s bid for the 2018 soccer World Cup.

He has been scornful, however of the description by the U.S. cables of his country as a “virtual mafia state” â€" something that every Russian knows from personal experience. His response? To shoot the messenger. Putin, on CNN’s Larry King Live, and his spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, on the BBC, both cast doubt over the authenticity of the cables.

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