Russian President Vladimir Putin has explained why he stopped to kiss a small boy on the stomach as he was walking through the Kremlin, saying it was a spontaneous gesture similar to stroking a cat. "It was an unplanned meeting -- people just came up and started talking to me," Putin said, recalling the June 28 incident when he encountered the boy, Nikita, among a group of tourists, lifted the boy's shirt and planted a kiss on his stomach.
"He seemed very independent and serious. At the same time a child is always defenceless and nice. I wanted to stroke him like a cat and it came out in this gesture. There was nothing behind it," Putin said in an Internet question and answer session with Russian and foreign audiences.
The stomach kiss incident has prompted a rash of speculation and comment in the Russian media and major public interest ahead of Putin's question and answer session Thursday.
