Russian President Vladimir Putin has explained his side through an interview with Bild, a German newspaper, saying, "he did not mean to scare Chancellor Angela Merkel with his dog" in a press conference that happened nine years ago.

"I showed her my dog because I thought she would like it," Vladimir Putin said. He also added that he just "wanted to do something nice to her" so he let his beloved, friendly and well-behaved Labrador dog, Connie, stay inside the room while they were conducting the meeting.

Putin also denies the issue that he has been informed about Merkel's phobia of dogs. According to Putin, as soon as he learned that Merkel doesn't like dogs, he felt sorry and asked for an apology.

In 2007, as posted in Telegraph, the incident happened in Putin's Sochi residence in Germany. That is when Putin and Merkel met for the first time. According to some reports, Putin has already been briefed about the German Chancellor's fear of dogs. But despite that, he still deliberately had his pet Labrador brought in the meeting. Rumor has it that the move was planned and a ploy to intimidate the chancellor.

Merkel reportedly has Cynophobia, or fear of dogs, since she was attacked in 1995. During the meeting, she was photographed looking very uneasy especially that Putin's black Labrador was wandering freely around the room.

Now, after almost a decade, the Russian President dismissed the issue about him using his beloved dog, which had passed away last 2014, to unnerve Merkel during the very important meeting between the two heads of state.

According to the website, Independent, Putin also complimented the German leader for being professional and open. "She is also subject to certain pressures and limitations. But she is making an honest effort to resolve the crises, also in south-west Ukraine."

Putin added that since both their sides are interested to work hard to fight Islamic terrorism, they must stand together in order to achieve their goals against it. That's why instead of bringing out issues in the past that would only make them feel negative towards each other, they must focus more on other important matters instead.

"We should stand together much more globally in the fight against terror, which is a big challenge," he said. "Even though we don't agree every time and on every subject, no one should take that as an excuse to declare us enemies."