Putin joked that his exclusion from oligarchs list was ‘offensive’

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly joked that his exclusion from a U.S. Treasury Department list of Russian oligarchs was “offensive.”

Putin added that the creation of the list is “indisputably an unfriendly act.” 

The list, released Monday by the Treasury Department, includes various political figures in Russia who are close to the Kremlin, but not Putin himself.

{mosads}“In effect, all 146 million of us have been put on some list,” Putin said, as reported by Bloomberg.

The Trump administration on Monday declined to impose new sanctions meant to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 election, arguing that the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) has effectively served as a deterrent.

A Putin spokesman who is included on the oligarchs list slammed the document.

“Publication of such a wide list of everything and everyone could potentially damage the image and reputation of our firms, our businessmen, our politicians, and of members of the leadership,” said Dmitry Peskov, Reuters reported.

Trump has been fiercely criticized for his soft tone on Putin, which is amplified by the various probes into Russia’s election interference and any ties between Trump campaign officials and Moscow. Last May, Trump revealed a highly classified intelligence detail collected by Israel to the Russian ambassador during a meeting.

The president has slammed the probes as an “excuse” for Democrats’ lost in the 2016 election.