Merkel Says She and Putin Have Exchanged German Beer and Smoked Fish
“It’s well known that the Russian president likes German beer,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin. “For my part, I once got some very good smoked fish.”
Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin in Berlin on June 1, 2012.
Photographer: Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg
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Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin don’t exactly see eye to eye on issues from Ukraine to Syria. But after multiple encounters on the global stage, they’ve learned how the other ticks.
Just how well was shown on Monday, when the chancellor was asked about a Russian television portrait of the president in which Putin said that she had sent him bottles of his favorite German beer.