Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, saying that he didn’t intentionally intend to intimidate her by bringing his pet Labrador to their assembly again in 2007, which turned a infamous diplomatic incident.
Merkel, who has a well-documented concern of animals, recalled the tense encounter in her memoir, “Freedom,” launched Tuesday, accusing Putin of inviting his black Labrador Retriever Koni as a “demonstration of power” and taking glee in her discomfort.
Knowing Putin typically introduced the pet to conferences with international company, Merkel stated she had requested an aide the earlier yr to request Putin’s workforce to not deliver out Koni in her presence as a result of she was afraid of canines.
When they met in Moscow in 2006, she stated, Putin revered the request however introduced her with a big stuffed canine, remarking that it did not chunk.
But on the encounter within the Russian metropolis of Sochi the next yr, the big canine wandered across the room and walked proper as much as Merkel whereas the chancellor, visibly uncomfortable, sat alongside Putin in entrance of photographers and TV cameras.
Asked concerning the incident on Thursday, Putin denied he had been conscious of Merkel’s phobia and stated he had later apologized 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,” the the Russian chief stated at a news convention within the Kazakh capital Astana.
“I once again appeal to her via the media and say: ‘Angela, please forgive me, I did not want to cause you any heartache.’ On the contrary, I wanted to create a favorable atmosphere for our conversation,” Putin added.
“If you ever – I realize it is unlikely – come again, I will not do it under any circumstances,” he stated.
In her e 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 could tell from Putin’s facial expressions that he was enjoying the situation.”
However, she did not deliver it up – holding as she usually did to the motto “never explain, never complain.”
“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,” Merkel wrote.
Putin is thought to be keen on canines and has acquired them from visiting dignitaries on a number of events.
He acquired Koni as a present from Sergei Shoigu, who later turned his protection minister.
Merkel was the primary German chancellor to depart energy at a time of her selecting. She introduced in 2018 that she would not search a fifth time period, and stated she “let go at the right point.”
“Freedom” runs to greater than 700 pages in its unique German version, printed by Kiepenheuer & Witsch. The English version is being launched concurrently by St. Martin’s Press.
Source: www.dailysabah.com