At times, it’s the Kremlin leader that seems to be the voice of moderation. Stone, who’s previously made films lauding the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro, asks, “is Wall Street actively working to destroy the Russian economy in the interests of the United States?” Putin demurs, saying only that the U.S. Administration views Russia as “a competitor.”
In the barest hint of criticism, Stone also asked Putin if a law passed in 2013 outlawing gay propaganda to minors meant homosexuals faced discrimination. “There are no restrictions whatsoever,” Putin said, contrasting Russia with some Islamic states where he said gays face the death penalty.
But asked if he’d take a shower in a submarine next to a gay man, the Russian leader replied, laughing: “Well, I prefer not to go to the shower with him. Why provoke him? But you know, I’m a judo master.”
While Dr. Strangelove apparently left him unmoved, Putin became more animated discussing what he sees as modern-day challenges to the nuclear theory of mutually assured destruction, particularly the U.S. program to develop a missile-defense shield.
“As of today a missile shield would not protect the territory of the United States,” he tells Stone after the director points out that it was U.S. Independence Day. “Nobody would survive” a war between nuclear superpowers, he said.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.