Anti-gay President Putin hugs lesbian athlete in Sochi nightclub hours after winning gold in the speedskating

Putin, 61, was seen at an after-party event in town celebrating

He cozied up to Dutch gold medal winning speedskater Ireen Wust

'He was happy to see me, but then he had to leave again,' she said

Russia's hardline anti-gay President Vladimir Putin hugged the first openly gay athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, it was revealed today.



After watching his country's ice dance team take Russia's first gold of the Sochi Olympics, Putin, 61, was seen at an after-party event in town celebrating.

It was at the Holland Heineken House that he cozied up to Dutch gold medal winning speedskater Ireen Wust, who was there to be honoured by hundreds of fans for her victory earlier in the day in the 3,000-meter race.



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Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Austria Tirol House at the Sochi Winter Olympics (left) and (right) the

openly gay athlete Ireen Wust



Anti-gay: Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) toasts with members of the Austrian delegation as he visits Austria Tirol House in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia

'I got a cuddle from him,' Wust told Dutch national broadcaster NOS. 'He congratulated me and asked if everything was OK in Russia and I congratulated him on (Russian speedskater) Olga Graf, of course, for her third place (in the 3,000 meters).

'He was happy to see me, but then he had to leave again. But I cuddled him.'

Holland Heineken House is renowned at recent Olympic Games as a great place for a party, drawing thousands of fans with a cocktail of live music, the chance to see a Dutch medal winner and perhaps a couple of beers.



A series of incidents have strained relations between the Netherlands and Russia in recent months, including a diplomat being arrested by police in The Hague and Russia's detention of a Dutch-flagged protest ship and its crew.

But there was no sign of any lingering tensions as Putin made his way out of the house and spoke to a reporter in English.

'Fantastic,' he said of his brief visit. 'Very good. Good people and good results ... good party.'



Putin, left, toasts with beer with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, center, and Queen Maxima, right, at the Netherlands house in Sochi Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks with Julia Lipnitskaia after she won gold for Russia

Ireen, 27, has said she will not use the podium to talk about gay rights.



She said: 'I want to talk about ice skating. You are not asking (fellow Dutch speedskater) Sven Kramer about how his relationship is going. So why would you ask me? If I would've had a relationship with a guy, you wouldn't have asked me either.'



She is one of seven openly gay athletes competing in Sochi, but she more publicly identifies herself as Dutch while on the world stage. She painted her nails the colors of the Dutch flag.

Putin was slammed by Elton John ahead of the games after the president said millions of people liked the Candle in the Wind singer 'despite his orientation.'



Sir Elton told how homophobia was rife in Russia. He said: 'The people I met in Moscow - gay men and lesbians in their 20s, 30s and 40s - told me stories about receiving threats from vigilante groups who would 'cure' them of homosexuality by dousing them with urine or beating them up.



'One young man was stalked outside a gay club by someone posing as a taxi driver who tried to garrotte him with a guitar string because he was a 'sodomite'.'



Putin passed a law to ban homosexual 'propaganda' at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

He has previously argued that there could not be any discrimination against homosexuals in his country, because he has gay friends.



He said: 'I myself know some people who are gay. We're on friendly terms. I'm not prejudiced in any way.



'Homosexual people can't feel inferior here [in Russia] because there is no professional, career or social discrimination against them.'

