President Putin has provoked the ire of two former first ladies and annoyed many women by dismissing Hillary Clinton as weak and ascribing that to her gender.
In an interview on the eve of a visit to France on Friday, Mr Putin responded to accusations from the former US secretary of state that he had been trying to redraw eastern European frontiers like Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.
“It’s better not to argue with women,” Mr Putin told French television, adding: “But Mrs Clinton has never been too graceful in her statements.”
The Russian president noted that he had had cordial conversations in the past with Mrs Clinton, who is regarded as a contender for the 2016 presidential race, but she had now gone too