Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday denied using his dog to intimidate former German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a meeting at his Black Sea residence in Sochi in 2007.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he didn't intend to scare German chancellor Angela Merkel with his black Labrador Koni in 2007. Putin apologized to Merkel, saying he wanted to create a favourable atmosphere for their conversation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denied on Thursday that he had deliberately used his black labrador Koni to intimidate German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a meeting in 2007 that became a notorious diplomatic incident.

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel, who has a well-documented fear of animals, recalled the tense encounter in her memoir released Tuesday, accusing Putin of inviting the pet as a 'demonstration of power.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, saying that he did not deliberately intend to

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, explaining that he did not intend to scare her by bringing his dog into a meeting in 2007. Merkel recently disclosed the incident in her memoirs.

The German Chancellor's autobiography caught the attention of Russian media; with Putin being asked why he frightened Merkel with a dog during a meeting. Russian President Putin has apologised to Angela Merkel for an incident from 2007.

Asked about the incident on Thursday, Russia's Vladimir Putin denied knowing about Angela Merkel’s fear of dogs and said he had later apologised to her.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologised to former German chancellor Angela Merkel, saying that he did not mean to scare her when he brought his pet Labrador to a

Vladimir Putin claims he apologized to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for bringing his Labrador to a meeting in 2007, not knowing about her fear of dogs. "Angela, please forgive me, I did not want to cause you any heartache,