Seoul (AFP) - It's official: even
though they are involved in the worst East-West clash since the Cold
War, Barack Obama would save Vladimir Putin from drowning.
Obama on Friday
delivered his answer to a question posed to Putin during a live
television appearance earlier this month -- would his US rival come to
his rescue?
Putin answered by
saying that though he did not have a special personal relationship with
Obama he thought the US leader was "a decent and brave person."
"And of course, he would."
In
a rare moment of humour at an alarming moment of the Ukraine crisis,
Obama confirmed he would indeed throw the Russian leader a lifeline,
when questioned by a US journalist.
"I absolutely would save Mr Putin if he were drowning," Obama said.
"If anybody is out there drowning, I would save them.
"I
used to be a pretty good swimmer, I grew up in Hawaii," Obama said,
before adding with a rueful smile: "I am a little bit out of practice."
South
Koreans might have been puzzled by the question -- given the national
mourning over the loss of a ferry packed with high school children less
than two weeks ago and the grim search for bodies in the upturned
vessel.
In a news conference with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, Obama also cast his own judgement on Putin's character.
"Mr
Putin is not a stupid man," Obama said, reasoning that the Russian
leader had acknowledged that Western sanctions imposed as a result of
Russia's annexation of Crimea were having an impact on the Russian
economy.
Even before the Ukraine
showdown, Putin and Obama had a difficult relationship and had endured
several photo-ops after summits noted for stilted body language.
Obama
once compared Putin to a "bored kid" slouching at the back of the
class, and wondered whether the Kremlin chief's public persona was just a
"tough guy" act and a "shtick" to impress his domestic political
constituency.
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