Putin’s Flippant Comments on Israeli Scandal Are Heard

[donsu]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/20/world/europe/20putin.html?ex=1318996800&en=4518d72a8666ca41&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss


President Vladimir V. Putin has a penchant for making pithy, acerbic, sometimes coarse comments. On Wednesday, a microphone inadvertently left on during a brief appearance with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel captured his views on the sex scandal involving Israel’s president.

According to journalists and officials in the room and published accounts by Agence France-Presse late Wednesday and Kommersant and The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, Mr. Putin was heard saying, “Say hello to your president,” to Mr. Olmert, referring to President Moshe Katsav, who could face criminal charges that he raped and assaulted two former employees. Mr. Putin added, “He really surprised us.”

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“We did not know he could deal with 10 women,” he said, according to those in the room and the Post and Agence France-Presse accounts, apparently referring to the complaints by several women that Mr. Katsav harassed them or worse.

Kommersant’s version — citing the remarks in Russian — was cruder. “He turned out to be quite a powerful man,” the paper’s reporter in the official Kremlin pool, Andrei Kolesnikov, quoted Mr. Putin as saying. “He raped 10 women. I never expected it from him. He surprised all of us. We all envy him.”

The accounts suggested that Mr. Putin’s remarks prompted laughter from the Russian and Israeli diplomats inside the Kremlin, where the two leaders went on to discuss Middle East policy and other issues for two and a half hours. According to those present, Mr. Olmert responded by saying, “I wouldn’t be jealous of him.”
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[ShortnFiery]

1. I think he was being sarcastic ... like asking * "Where's your WMDs?"

I like pithy. He may touch little boy's tummies but I don't think he has a penchant for rape.

I know he's evil, but hell, he always shows up Dear Leader because he's the worst type of evil: He's highly intelligent.

Remember: There's no such thing as an Ex KGB Officer. He's playing mind games.

[donsu]

2. yeah he was being sarcastic

nt