Putin Says Hitler Remarks Attributed to Prince Charles 'Unacceptable'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday condemned remarks from Britain's Prince Charles reportedly comparing his actions to those of Adolf Hitler, saying they were not worthy of royalty.

"I did not hear this expression. If it was said then of course this is unacceptable," Putin told foreign news agency journalists in Saint Petersburg.

"I think he himself understands that. He is an educated man... This is unroyal behavior," Putin said.

Russia's relations with the West have sunk to a post-Cold War low over the crisis in Ukraine, which has seen Moscow annex Crimea and allegedly support pro-Russian separatist rebels in the east of the country.

Russian officials had previously condemned the comments -- reportedly made by the heir to the British throne during a trip to Canada -- as "outrageous", with the Russian deputy ambassador holding talks with a middle-ranking British official at the Foreign Office in London.

A spokeswoman for the prince refused to comment on Putin's remarks.

Charles made the apparently unguarded comment during a private conversation with a Polish-born woman on a trip to a museum.

The comments by Charles to the woman, who had fled the Nazis as a child, were reported by the Daily Mail on Wednesday.

"I had finished showing him the exhibit and talked with him about my own family background and how I came to Canada," 78-year-old Marienne Ferguson told the newspaper.

"The prince then said: 'And now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler'."

The row threatens to cast a shadow over commemorations in France to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, which both Charles and Putin are due to attend, although royal aides said no formal meeting was scheduled.