MOSCOW - An angry Prime Minister Vladimir Putin spoke in graphic terms about hanging the president of Georgia during talks about a cease-fire to end the August war between the two countries, according to a French magazine report. A spokesman for the Kremlin confirmed that "the rhetoric was very harsh" at the meeting.
Le Nouvel Observateur reported Thursday that Putin compared Mikhail Saakashvili to ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during a meeting in Moscow with Nicolas Sarkozy. The magazine said Sarkozy suspected that the Russian army was going to topple Saakashvili. "You can´t do that, the world will not accept it," the magazine quoted Sarkozy as saying. It described its source as Sarkozy´s diplomatic adviser, Jean-David Levitte.
"I´m going to have Saakashvili hanged ... " Putin said, ending the sentence with a crude anatomical reference. "Hang him?" Sarkozy reportedly said. "Why not?" Putin reportedly said. "The Americans hanged Saddam, didn´t they?" "Yes, but do you want to end up like Bush?" Sarkozy reportedly said. "You have a point there," Putin said.
Putin´s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "Putin spoke in words very similar to what is written in the article." Both Levitte and Sarkozy´s spokesman declined to comment.
Le Nouvel Observateur reported Thursday that