Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised to former German chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, saying he didn’t imply to scare her when he introduced his pet Labrador to a gathering along with her in 2007.
Merkel, who has a well-documented concern of the animals, recalled the tense encounter in her memoir launched Tuesday, accusing Putin of inviting the pet as a “demonstration of energy” and taking glee in her discomfort.
“I didn’t know that she was afraid of canine,” the Kremlin chief mentioned Thursday at a press convention within the Kazakh capital Astana.
“I as soon as once more attraction to her by way of the media and say: ‘Angela, please forgive me, I didn’t need to trigger you any heartache.’ On the opposite, I needed to create a beneficial environment for our dialog,” he added.
“If you ever — I realise it’s unlikely — come once more, I can’t do it below any circumstances,” Putin mentioned.
Images from their 2007 assembly within the Russian metropolis of Sochi confirmed Putin’s black Labrador Retriever Konni sniffing round whereas the German chief sat in her chair, smiling nervously.
Merkel mentioned of the 2007 encounter in her memoir: “I might inform from Putin’s facial expressions that he was having fun with the scenario.”
Putin is understood to be keen on canine and has acquired them from visiting dignitaries on a number of events.
He acquired Konni as a present from Sergei Shoigu, who later grew to become his defence minister.
