Russian leader Vladimir Putin has dismissed climate activist Greta Thunberg as a ‘poorly informed teenager.’

“Nobody explained to Greta that the modern world is complicated and complex.” Vladimir Putin says he does not “share everyone’s enthusiasm” about Greta Thunberg. The Swedish teenager has inspired millions of young people to take to the streets to highlight the climate crisis. pic.twitter.com/sx87y6Sv3B — Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) October 3, 2019

The Russian president, addressing an energy forum in Moscow, said:

“I may disappoint you but I do not share everyone’s enthusiasm about Greta Thunberg’s speech [to the UN]. You know, the fact that young people, teenagers pay attention to the acute problems of the modern world, including ecology. That is right and very good. We need to support them. But when somebody uses children and teenagers in their own interests it deserves to be condemned. Nobody explained to Greta that the modern world is complicated, and complex, and it changes fast. People in Africa and in many Asian countries want to be as wealthy as people in Sweden. How can it be done? By making them use solar energy which is plentiful in Africa? Has anyone explained the cost of it?”

Putin is the second world leader in a fortnight likely to have incurred the wrath of the 16-year old pig-tailed school drop out and climate activist.

The first, of course, was President Trump who received one of Greta’s trademark death glares when he made a surprise appearance at a UN climate summit.