Vladimir Putin ‘wanted to hang Georgian President Saakashvili by the balls’

Just found this article on Times Online and thought i’d share it with you.

Mr Sarkozy’s chief diplomatic adviser reported an exchange between Putin and Sarozy in a news magazine before an EU-Russia summit today. If the account is true it’s an interesting glance behind the curtains of international diplomacy to say the least. Heres an excerpt:

“With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to Mr Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” Mr Putin declared.

Mr Sarkozy thought he had misheard. “Hang him?” — he asked. “Why not?” Mr Putin replied. “The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”

Mr Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him: “Yes but do you want to end up like [President] Bush?” Mr Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: “Ah — you have scored a point there.”

and here’s the link to the article.

that explains the ups and downs of markets these days…