Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday responded to a question from a BBC reporter on opposition leader Alexei Navalny by accusing the British broadcaster of supporting the Kremlin critic.

"When I heard you were from the BBC, I didn't doubt for a moment you would ask precisely that question because it's in a certain sense propaganda of the people whom you support," Putin said in a televised answer to a question about whether he sees Navalny as a political competitor.