Kremlin: UK Johnson's comparison of Russia World Cup with Nazi Olympics unacceptable

MOSCOW – The Kremlin said on Thursday that remarks by British foreign minister Boris Johnson comparing Russia's hosting of the soccer World Cup this summer with Nazi Germany's hosting of the Olympics in 1936 were disgusting and unacceptable.

"It's a completely disgusting statement, it does not become the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country (Britain) or of any country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. "It's undoubtedly insulting and unacceptable."

Johnson told lawmakers on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin would try to bolster Russia's image through hosting the World Cup in much the same way as Adolf Hitler used the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany.