'Please forgive me', Vladimir Putin apologises for scaring Angela Merkel with his dog Koni in 2007
Russian President Vladimir Putin is one of the scariest world leaders out there. A judo black belt holder and a former KGB spy, Putin is as intimidating as it can get.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently opened up about a 2007 incident involving Putin when she was intimidated, not by the Russian strongman, but by his dog—Koni.
When Putin's dog scared Merkel
In her new memoir, Freedom, Merkel said Putin deliberately used his black labrador Koni to intimidate her at a meeting in Sochi in 2007. According to Merkel, it was known that Putin would sometimes bring his pet to meetings with foreign guests, and since she was afraid of dogs, her aide had asked Putin's team not to bring out Koni.
Merkel, in her book, described in detail the 'distressing' incident and claimed that Putin was enjoying it.
"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."
Wasn't deliberate: Putin
Responding to Merkel, Putin on Thursday said he did not deliberately use the dog to intimidate the former German Chancellor.
"I've already told Merkel, I didn't know she was afraid of dogs. If I'd known, I would never have done it," Putin said.
The Russian president also promised that such a thing would never happen again and apologised to Merkel.
"I appeal to her again and say: Angela, please forgive me. I didn't want to cause you any distress," he said.
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