You're reading: Putin says condom comment wasn’t meant as insult

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin says his reference to the white ribbons worn by opposition protesters as "condoms" wasn't meant to insult the demonstrators.

In December, as protests began roiling Russia after
a fraud-tainted parliamentary election, Putin derided the
demonstrators, saying he initially thought the ribbons were condoms.
Subsequent demonstrations saw protesters inflating condoms like balloons
in a sarcastic retort.

But speaking to a gathering Tuesday that
included both opposition activists and adherents of a pro-Kremlin youth
group, Putin appeared to try to slightly mollify the opposition while
not giving any ground.

“I wasn’t speaking against the people who
came out with these symbols; I was annoyed about those people who use
techniques developed somewhere over the hill,” Putin said, using a
colloquialism for something foreign.