LONDON, May 22 — Russia has sought a meeting with British officials after media reports that Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, had likened Russian President Vladimir Putin to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler over his policy in Ukraine.
A Russian diplomat from its London embassy is expected to meet with a senior officer from Britain’s foreign office later today, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, gave no further details about the meeting or whether Russia had yet complained about the reported remarks.
The 65-year-old prince, during a tour of Canada, told a Jewish woman who fled from Poland during World War Two that “Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler”, according to a report in the Daily Mail newspaper.
Charles’s remarks, described by a royal source as “well-intentioned” and not meant to be public, have led news reports in Britain.
The Soviet Union lost more than 20 million people in World War Two.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who has scolded the Kremlin for annexing Crimea and supporting pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, declined to comment on Charles’s reported remarks.
The Russian embassy in London could not be reached for immediate comment. — Reuters
