Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that he deliberately wanted to scare German Chancellor Angela Merkel by letting a female labrador loose near her during their 2007 meeting in Sochi.
In her memoir, entitled Freedom, the former chancellor writes that knowing that Putin sometimes brought his dog to meetings with foreign leaders, she had asked an associate to inform the Russian president’s staff not to let Kony near her. her why she was afraid of dogs.
When they met in Moscow in 2006, Merkel writes, Putin respected her wish. He even gave her a stuffed dog, telling her that it “doesn’t bite”. However, during their meeting in Sochi a year later, the large black dog was let loose to explore the room and approached Merkel to sniff her, with Chancellor Merkel “frozen” and visibly embarrassed. The incident was captured by the photographers and television crews covering the meeting.
Asked about the incident, the Kremlin strongman denied today that he had been informed of Merkel’s phobia, adding that he had apologized to her. “Honestly, I’ve already told Merkel, I didn’t know she was afraid of dogs. If I had known, I would never have done it. On the contrary, I wanted to create a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere,” Putin said at a press conference.
Some Russian journalists laughed as Putin repeated his “apology” to Merkel, assuring her that if she ever wanted to visit him, he would not do so again. “I say to her again: Angela, forgive me, please. I didn’t want to upset you,” said Vladimir Putin.
In her book, the former chancellor describes the incident and her thoughts: “I tried to ignore the dog, even though it came very close to me. Interpreting the expression on Putin’s face, (I think) he was enjoying the situation (…) Did he just want to see how someone reacts in a difficult situation? Was it a little show of strength? I just thought: keep calm, focus on the photographers, it will pass.”
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