Putin planned to topple the president of Georgia and 'hang him by the b****', says Nicolas Sarkozy's chief adviser



Vladimir Putin threatened to oust the President of Georgia and ‘hang him by the b****’, it emerged yesterday.



The threat came during a meeting with Nicolas Sarkozy after the French President had flown to Moscow to broker a peace deal following Russia’s invasion of Georgia.



Putin’s outburst was overheard by Sarkozy’s chief adviser Jean-David Levitte during the talks between the two leaders on August 12.



'Threat': Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin threatened to hang out Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili 'by the balls' during a summit with French president Nicolas Sarkozy it is claimed



In an interview with the magazine Le Nouvel Observateur, Mr Levitte said it happened after Sarkozy told Putin the world would not accept Russia toppling Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili and installing a puppet government.



Mr Putin stormed: ‘I am going to hang Saakashvili by the b****.’



Mr Sarkozy responded: ‘Hang him?’

Putin said: ‘Why not? The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.’



Mr Sarkozy replied: ‘Yes, but do you want to end up like Bush?’



Mr Putin was briefly lost for words before answering: ‘Ah, you have scored a point there.’

Mr Sarkozy’s advisers said later the exchange marked the moment that Mr Sarkozy persuaded Mr Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev to begin withdrawing troops from Georgia.



French President Nicolas Sarkozy greeting Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in Paris on Thursday a day ahead of the European summit

Yesterday President Saakashvili – on a state visit to France – laughed nervously when told of the threats during a live radio interview in Paris.



He went on to voice dismay at France’s haste in trying to restore EU relations with Moscow.



Putin's menacing tirade was overheard by Sarkozy's chief adviser Jean-David Levitte during talks between the two leaders

He said: 'I never imagined a few months ago that I would be saying such things but unfortunately those are the facts.

'I don't feel that Europe has abandoned Georgia just yet. But if it happens, all my values, all my personal principles, all my promises to my people, will be destroyed.'



Meanwhile, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates accused Russia last night of trying to intimidate Barack Obama into dropping American plans for a new missile defence system in Eastern Europe.



‘Within hours of the conclusion of the American election, Russian President Medvedev responded by threatening to place missiles in Kaliningrad – hardly the welcome a new American administration deserves,’ said Mr Gates.



President Medvedev has told French daily Le Figaro that Moscow was ready to reverse its decision to station missiles close to the Polish border if the new American administration after Bush decided to abandon its own anti-missile system in central Europe.



Mr Medvedev added: 'We hope to build frank and honest relations and resolve with the new administration the problems that we have not managed to resolve with the present one.

'The new American president enjoys great confidence. He has been elected in a very complicated time and I wish him a lot of luck in his post.'