Russian President Putin has apologized to former Chancellor Angella. Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angella held a meeting in Sochi, Russia, in 2007. Putin’s dog was also present.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a news conference on Thursday, after she claimed Putin used his pet dog to intimidate her because she was afraid of dogs.

It concerns an incident that occurred when Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angella met in Sochi, Russia, in 2007. Merkel, who has a well-known fear of dogs, described the moment in her recently published memoir as a deliberate incident. “demonstration of power” by Putin.

In response, President Putin said“Frankly, I already told Merkel; I didn’t know she was afraid of dogs. If I had known, I never would have done it. On the contrary, I wanted to create a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

“Angela, please forgive me, he said Thursday at a press conference in Astana.

FLASHBACK: Video of this same meeting between Putin and Merkel in 2007, during which the president’s Labrador Connie scared the German chancellor pic.twitter.com/9Xn4abhi5A

– MARIE (@its_maria012) November 28, 2024

Merkel’s request was refused

Merkel served as German chancellor from 2005 to 2021. In her new memoir Freedom, Merkel explained that Putin occasionally brought his dog to meetings with foreign leaders. As she had a phobia of dogs, the previous year she had asked an assistant to ask her not to be present during her meetings with him.

The meeting, captured in photographs, showed Konni approaching Merkel, who appeared visibly uncomfortable as she sat. “I tried to ignore the dog, even though it was moving more or less right next to me. I interpreted Putin’s facial expressions as a sign that he was enjoying the situation,” she wrote.

Reflecting on the incident in her memoirs, Merkel wrote: “I could tell from Putin’s facial expressions that he was enjoying the situation.”

However, Putin denied “intentionally using his black Labrador, Koni,” to intimidate the German chancellor.

Putin’s pet, female Labrador Retriever Konni, is known to be present at most meetings attended by the president. Putin, a dog lover, has received several dogs as gifts from visiting officials over the years, including Konni, who was given to him by Sergei Shoigu, later Russian defense minister.

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