Analysis | That time Putin terrified Merkel with his dog, and other reasons they won’t get along at G20 summit

It’s a story to strike fear in the hearts of non-dog lovers everywhere: renowned tough guy and cute-animal cuddler Vladimir Putin once brought his pet Labrador, Konnie, to a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel has a famous and deathly fear of dogs. She has since childhood. The incident took place at the Russian president’s Sochi residence on the Black Sea in 2007.

The meeting underscores a strained political relationship that will be tested anew when the two leaders take part in the G20 summit July 7-8 in Hamburg that US President Donald Trump also will attend.

Merkel opposes Putin’s support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war, as well as Russia’s support for a separatist movement in East Ukraine. She also worries that Russian hackers could disrupt her bid for a fourth term in Germany’s election in September.

“It always used to be said in Germany that Russia is a friend. Today, we say that not only is it not a friend, it is increasingly not a partner. But it is still a neighbour, and that’s the world we live in,” said Michael Broening, a policy analyst in Berlin at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, a political foundation.

“When you look at the catalogue of problems that disunite Germany from Russia these days it really is a long, long list.”