A curious incident is mentioned in the recently published memoirs of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The author of the book reported that her Russian colleague Vladimir Putin once deliberately decided to scare her with his Labrador.
The Russian President denies any malicious intent, much less a desire to scare, but nevertheless apologized to Merkel through the media for the incident.
"It happens"
I already told Merkel about this, that I did not know that she was afraid of dogs. If I had known, I would never have done it. On the contrary, I wanted to create a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere. I later found out that she was afraid of dogs, it happens, - the TASS agency quotes Putin as saying.
While communicating with journalists, he took advantage of the opportunity to address the German politician through the press:
Angela, please forgive me, I did not want to cause you any emotional pain, on the contrary, I wanted to create a favorable atmosphere for our conversation. I apologize, if you ever come again - I will not do this under any circumstances.
The head of state recalled that the misunderstanding happened during one of Merkel's visits to Russia. It was 2007.
Vladimir Putin's dog, a Labrador named Koni, came into the room where the politicians were located.
Fear of dogs
I proceeded from the fact that in Europe and Germany, as far as I know (I lived there for almost five years), pets are treated very positively. On the contrary, I thought that she would be pleased, Putin explained.
Later, he said, he learned that the German leader was afraid of dogs because, as she herself said, “someone had bitten her as a child.”
And when I found out about this, I apologized to her. I said: “Angela, I’m sorry, I didn’t know about this,” the Russian leader said.
As for Merkel’s suggestion that her colleague was deliberately scaring her with the animal, the latter was surprised.
Here she is with persistence worthy of a better use, you see, she wrote about it in the book. Honestly, it is strange and unexpected for me, - that is how he reacted.
For reference
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is the President of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the State Council of the Russian Federation and the Security Council of Russia, and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Russia.
