Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to Angela Merkel for an incident in 2007 when he brought his Labrador to a meeting with the former German chancellor, ignoring her cynophobia.
“I didn’t know she was afraid of dogs,” Putin said, when asked about a passage from Angela Merkel’s memoir titled “Freiheit” (Freedom).
“If I had known, I never would have done it. »
Vladimir Poutine
17 years later: Putin asks Merkel for forgiveness
During this meeting between the two heads of state in Sochi 17 years ago, Putin brought his black Labrador into the room. The dog, named Koni, approached the German chancellor to sniff her.
A famous photo from this meeting shows the large black dog in the middle of the room. Merkel, bitten by a dog in her youth, looks at the animal with a worried expression, while Putin watches the scene with a smile.
Merkel: Putin wanted to demonstrate his power with his dog
In her memoir of more than 740 pages, the former chancellor, now 70, writes that Putin seemed to enjoy the situation and that he perhaps wanted to demonstrate his power or make her uncomfortable. She adds that Putin and his collaborators knew full well that she had a panic fear of dogs.
The Russian president assures us today, 17 years later, that he wanted to create a “relaxed and pleasant atmosphere”. He apologized to Angela Merkel and said he did not want to cause her pain.
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Putin, friend of dogs
Putin owns several dogs and is known to be an animal lover. Knowing this, the German Chancellor's team had expressly asked the head of the Kremlin not to bring his dog during their various meetings.
Putin reportedly respected this wish during their very first meeting in Moscow in 2006. He then gave her a diplomatic gift: a black and white stuffed dog. Putin would have told her that this dog did not bite and Merkel would have put on a “good face”, she writes.
