I have seen that Russia's media ... and the far right are both repeating the story. There is a huge difference in their coverage though. Some of the Russian media included other Putin comments other than the obvious joke. Here is one example:
""We are really glad to see you, because all joking aside, as a rule, we manage to find some common ground and, leaning on this, move forward to address both bilateral and international issues," the Russian president stressed."
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160324/1036919574/russia-kerry-visit-putin.html#ixzz44LU1YZPD
Not to mention, that in addition to the words, he met for 4 hours with Kerry, who is not his peer. That indicates respect for Kerry and the USA.
Putin's joke was weird, and Kerry's smile and his complete ease in responding pleasantly was better than any other response if the goal is getting to the serious discussions. What IS funny is that just today one media source actually had an entire article because Lavrov told them what was in Kerry's briefcase - his position papers on various issues that were to be discussed with Lavrov and Putin! (My guess is that they thought there could have been something more interesting because when they asked Kerry in the joint Lavrov/Kerry press availability, Kerry joked that it was "a secret between Putin and himself".) The entire thing is hilarious as I assume every able bodied diplomat would carry his/her own briefcase -- and yeah, it would contain papers concerning the planned discussions.
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