• Steve Rosenberg, a BBC journalist, asked Vladimir Putin about the poisoning of the former spy Sergei Skripal.
  • The Russian president said, “Get to the bottom of things there first, then we’ll talk about this.”

A BBC journalist confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin about the poisoning of the former spy Sergei Skripal and he received a brutal response.

Steve Rosenberg, the BBC’s Moscow correspondent, collared Putin at an agriculture event in Krasnodar, in southwestern Russia, asking, “Is Russia behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal?”

Putin almost smirked at the reporter as he considered his answer.

“Look, we’re busy here with agriculture,” Putin said. “As you can see, the aim is to create good conditions for people’s lives, and you ask me about some tragedies.

"Get to the bottom of things there first, then we'll talk about this."

You can watch the exchange here:

Hours earlier, British Prime Minister Theresa May said it was "highly likely" that Russia was behind the nerve-agent attack in Britain last week on Skripal. She has given Moscow until midnight on Tuesday to come up with a meaningful response to the evidence gathered by British investigators.

Rosenberg was praised by fellow journalists for his gumption in doorstepping Putin at an event with little to do with Russia's international relations.