MOSCOW, September 19 - RAPSI. The tweet posted by the leader of Russia's Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov about US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens during violent protests against the US Consulate in Benghazi, have reportedly incensed US government officials.
"The American ambassador to Libya was shot like the lowest dog. He was the main expert on the Libyan 'revolution.' He reaped what he sowed," Zyuganov, leader of the second largest political party in Russia, tweeted on Monday.
The Kommersant newspaper reports that Washington sources have warned that the Communist Party leader will be greeted with an "extremely strong reaction" following the November presidential and congressional elections in the US, regardless of who wins. According to the report, the Tweet has been seen by top government officials.
Zyuganov told RIA Novosti that his words were misinterpreted as his assistant reduced his statement to two phrases when posting it on Twitter.
Zyuganov stressed that his words meant that he is against any kind of violence and that we must learn from mistakes made in world history so as to avoid war and its terrible effects.
When speaking of the phrase "was shot like the lowest dog," Zyuganov said that he used it as a metaphor, implying that he was killed in cold blood.
The attack on the US embassy in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, claimed the lives of four people, including ambassador Christopher Stevens.