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Tough guy Vladimir Putin got a fit of the giggles when one of his ministers suggested exporting port to one of the world's biggest Muslim countries.

The Russian President is normally stony faced, but he couldn't control his mirth when agriculture minister, Alexander Tkachev, came up with the bizarre suggestion.

Eating pork is prohibited in Islam , a fact that had not escaped Putin, whoi said: "Indonesia is a Muslim country - they don't eat pork."

Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population with 202.9million living in the country, more than Pakistan and India.

Tkachev came up with the inappropriate idea after reflecting how Germany exports 3million tonnes of the meat every year.

(Image: Euronews) (Image: Euronews)

He told the political meeting that the pork "went mainly to China, Indonesia, some to Japan, Korea and so on" and urged Russia to increase its exports.

Clearly nervous after being mocked by Putin - a former KGB boss - Tkachev referred to his notes before announcing "oh really, er South Korea" before adding "what's the difference?"

Thankfully, Putin seems to have been in a good mood as the president burst out laughing once again.

The president has also been flexing his military muscles with a huge exercise to show the might of his marines.

(Image: Euronews)

More than 1,000 infantry personnel took part in drills in the Kamchatka region in eastern Russia.

Land soldiers practised defending the coast while marines from the Primorsky Krai region worked on military attacks.

Troops opened fire on targets at land and at sea, and weapons used included self-propelled multiple-launch rocket systems and Mil Mi-8 helicopters.

A video of the drills was released by the press service of the Eastern Military District in charge of the Pacific Fleet, which said the operation had been a success.