Putin denies he tried to frighten Merkel with dog
29/11/2024 6:23
Russian President Vladimir Putin
denied on Thursday that he had deliberately used his black
labrador Koni to intimidate German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a
meeting in 2007 that became a notorious diplomatic incident.
Merkel wrote in her new memoir "Freedom" that, knowing Putin
sometimes brought the pet to meetings with foreign guests, she
had asked an aide the previous year to request Putin's team not
to bring out Koni in her presence because she was afraid of
dogs.
When they met in Moscow in 2006, she said, Putin respected
the request but presented her with a large stuffed dog,
remarking that it didn't bite.
But at the encounter in Sochi the following year, the large
dog wandered around the room and walked right up to Merkel while
the chancellor, visibly uncomfortable, sat alongside Putin in
front of photographers and TV cameras.
Asked about the incident on Thursday, Putin denied he had
been aware of Merkel's phobia and said he had later apologised
to her.
"Frankly - I've already told Merkel, I didn't know she was
afraid of dogs. If I'd known, I would never have done it. On the
contrary I wanted to create a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere," he
told a press conference.
Russian reporters smirked as Putin issued a fulsome new
apology to Merkel and said that, in the unlikely event she was
to pay another visit, he "absolutely won't do it again".
"I appeal to her again and say: Angela, please forgive me. I
didn't want to cause you any distress," he said.
In her book, the retired chancellor described the incident
as an ordeal.
"I tried to ignore the dog, even though he was moving more
or less right next to me. I interpreted Putin's facial
expressions as him enjoying the situation," she wrote.
"Did he just want to see how a person reacts in distress?
Was it a small demonstration of power? I just thought: stay
calm, concentrate on the photographers, it will pass."
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