Russian President Vladimir Putin denied on Thursday that he deliberately used Koni’s black labrador to intimidate German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a 2007 meeting that became a notorious diplomatic incident, Reuters reported.

Merkel wrote in her new memoir Freedom that, knowing Putin sometimes brought the pet to meetings with foreign guests, she had asked an aide the previous year to ask Putin’s team not to take Koni out in her presence because he was afraid of dogs.

When they met in Moscow in 2006, she said, Putin respected the request but gave her a large stuffed dog, noting that it doesn’t bite.

But at the meeting in Sochi the following year, the big dog wandered into the room and approached Merkel as the visibly embarrassed chancellor sat next to Putin in front of photographers and television cameras.

Asked about the incident on Thursday, Putin denied knowledge of Merkel’s phobia and said he later apologized to her.

“Honestly – I’ve already told Merkel, I didn’t know she was afraid of dogs. If I had known, I never would have done it. Instead, I wanted to create a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere”the Russian president claimed at a press conference.

Russian journalists smiled as Putin again apologized to Merkel and said that, in the unlikely event she made another visit, “he won’t do it again.”

“I appeal to her again and say: Angelaplease forgive me. I didn’t mean to upset you”he stated.

In her book, Merkel described the incident as an ordeal.

“I tried to ignore the dog, even though it was moving pretty much next to me. I interpreted Putin’s facial expressions as enjoying the situation.”he wrote.

“Did he just want to see how a man in danger reacts? Was it a little show of strength? I just thought: keep calm, focus on the photographers, it will pass.”