Russian President Vladimir Putin | Sean Gallup/Getty Images Putin calls Sergei Skripal ‘traitor’ and ‘scumbag’ ‘I think it will pass. The sooner, the better,’ Russian president says of fallout from Salisbury poisoning.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denied involvement in the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal, whom he labeled a "scumbag" and a "traitor."

Speaking at an energy forum in Moscow on Wednesday, Putin also criticized the West for portraying Skripal as an innocent victim, the Guardian reported.

“I see that some of your colleagues are pushing the theory that Mr. Skripal was almost some kind of human rights activist,” Putin said in response to a question from a moderator.

“He was simply a spy. A traitor to the motherland. There is such a concept — a traitor to the motherland. He was one of those.”

He added: “He’s simply a scumbag, that’s all.”

Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in the English city of Salisbury in March. The U.K. says Russian intelligence officers poisoned them with Novichok, a nerve agent. The two men accused of the attack have said they were only in Britain as tourists.

After the poisoning of the Skripals, a local woman, Dawn Sturgess, died due to coming in contact with the poison.

Speaking about her death, Putin said: “You want to tell me that we also poisoned some homeless person? What is this nonsense?"

Asked about the political fallout from poisoning, which led to scores of Russian officials being expelled by Western countries, Putin said: “I think it will pass. The sooner, the better.”