Two comedians trick Spanish defence minister into believing Puigdemont is Russian spy

Spain’s Minister of Defence María Dolores de Cospedal has been the brunt of a joke by two Russian comedians pretending to be her Latvian counterparts. In a telephone conversation, broadcast by Russian news agency Sputnik, they tell De Cospedal that Carles Puigdemont is in fact a spy who has long been working for Russian intelligence under the codename ‘Cipollino’.

The unwitting participant of the prank, De Cospedal, asked where they had gotten the information from, whilst assuring the Russian comedians that the situation in Catalonia was under control. Via Twitter, she admitted that it was a “very strange” conversation, explaining how she asked them to speak in English but they refused.

“As I didn’t trust it, I stopped talking and did not speak again. I now know that they were Russians,” the minister said.

After being told that Puigdemont was indeed a spy working undercover for Russia, De Cospedal said that she would speak with the Spanish president Mariano Rajoy. She asked the fake Latvian defence officials to disclose where they got the incriminating information from, to be told that it came from the Ukraine about a week before.

Alexei Stoliarov and Vladímir Kuznetsov, the Russian comedians behind the prank, also revealed to the Spanish defence minister that half of the Russian tourists visiting Barcelona are actually Russian spies. Needless to say, De Cospedal was surprised.

They also offered De Cospedal military support on behalf of Latvia, should Spain decide to deploy troops in Catalonia.