"I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls," [Mr Putin] said. "Hang him?," asked Mr Sarkozy. "Why not?," retorted Mr Putin. "The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein." Mr Sarkozy replied: "Yes but do you want to end up like Bush?" Briefly lost for words, the Russian leader agreed: "Ah, you have scored a point there."
— Vladimir Putin

January 1, 1970

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ConservativesPresidents of RussiaPeople from St. PetersburgEastern Orthodox ChristiansPrime Ministers of Russia
Original Language: English

Sources

Conversation (12 August 2008) overheard by Jean-David Levitte, an adviser to the then French president, interviewed in Le Nouvel Observateur magazine, as cited in "Vladimir Putin threatened to hang Georgia leader 'by the balls'", The Telegraph (13 November 2008)