The Kremlin described former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's description of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2007 as further evidence of Merkel's anti-Russian sentiments, DPA reported, quoted from BTA.
In her recently published memoir, Merkel wrote that Putin knew about her fear of dogs and deliberately let his pet Labrador into the negotiating room to startle her.
„If she wrote something like that, then she probably wasn't as open to dialogue as Putin was,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
He suspects that Merkel was probably already domestically opposed to Russia at the time, though he can't say for sure.
According to Peskov, Putin only wanted to create a cozy atmosphere by bringing his dog into the negotiation room.
A few days ago, Putin made a similar statement after the passage from Merkel's memoirs came out for the first time.
Then Putin said he knew nothing about Merkel's fear of dogs. He later apologized to Merkel when he found out, but said he was ready to apologize again.
„ Angela, I'm sorry, I didn't want to cause you mental pain,” Putin said at a press conference.