Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s dog broke protocol by biting visiting Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on the hand, but Austria’s leader was gracious and later gave the exuberant pooch a toy.
The incident occurred while the two leaders were strolling in the courtyard of the Moldovan presidential mansion and Van der Bellen attempted to pet the dog.
Sandu apologized in English, explaining that the dog had grown scared due to the great number of people present. Van Der Bellen attended his next meeting, with the speaker of Moldova’s parliament, with his hand bandaged.
Van der Bellen expressed sympathy for the first pup in an Instagram video uploaded on Friday.
“Everyone who knows me knows that I’m a big dog lover and can understand his excitement”, Van der Bellen tweeted, adding his meeting with Sandu and other top officials had been very good.
Van der Bellen also mentioned that on the last day of his stay, he gave the dog a small toy.
The talks in Chisinau, attended by Van Der Bellen and the president of Slovenia, centred on Moldova’s quest to join the European Union, which lies between Ukraine and Romania.
Sandu, who rescued the dog after it was hit by a car, shared photos of her pet with the two presidents on social media.
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