Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that US President Joe Biden’s comments about Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin, in which he called him a “killer”, were “unacceptable” and “not fitting of a president”. In a TV interview broadcast on Wednesday, Biden said “I do” when asked if he believed the Russian president was a killer, plunging diplomatic ties to a new low. Putin later responded “it takes one to know one”. “Mr Biden’s comment about Putin does not suit a head of state,” the Turkish president told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul, lauding Putin for giving a “smart” and “classy response”. The fact of Turkey's being a NATO ally of the USA throws weight behind Erdogan's opinion and puts the diplomatic exchange in a proper perspective. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/19/turkeys-erdogan-says-biden-comments-on-putin-unacceptable Clearly, by having violated the norms of diplomatic discourse Biden has shown himself to be a weak leader who does not measure up to the great country. At the same time the Russian proverb that was used by Putin has triggered off quite a lively discussion in the world of translation.