Putin denies plans to wed gymnast

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday dismissed "snotty" reports he has split from his wife and is planning to marry a former Olympic gymnast who's less than half his age.

Putin was asked about a Russian report he had divorced his wife, Lyudmila, 50, and intended to marry Alina Kabayeva, 24.

"There is not a single word of truth" to the report, Putin said at a news conference in Sardinia with incoming Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

Earlier this month, Moscow tabloid Moskovski Korrespondent reported the couple had divorced two months ago and that Putin would wed Kabayeva in June after he left office.

Kabayeva, a member of Russia's lower house of parliament, won a gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics in 2004.

The paper quoted a wedding planner in Putin's hometown, St. Petersburg, who was reportedly bidding to plan the couple's lavish reception.

Putin, a former spy who has largely kept his family out of the public eye, said he wasn't impressed with the report.

"I have always had a negative opinion of those who, with their snotty noses and their erotic fantasies, meddle in other people's lives," he said.

Putin, who has played up his tough-guy image by posing shirtless during a vacation to the Siberian mountains last August, said he appreciated all Russian women.

"In other publications of the same type, the names of other successful, beautiful young women from Russia are mentioned," he said. "I think it won't be unexpected if I say that I like them all — just as I like all Russian women."

Putin will leave office in May, handing the presidency to his handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev.

Putin will become the country's prime minister and take control of the country's dominant United Russia party, which controls parliament's lower house.

Via cbc.ca