Moscow: A Russian tabloid has withdrawn its story which claimed that President Vladimir Putin was in love with a gymnast-turned-politician and would marry her in June.
"There is no factual base for our publication,” said Moskovsky Korrespondent in a front-page apology. The tabloid admitted that it cannot substantiate the story and apologised for the "moral pain" it had caused
A weekend report in the tabloid claimed Putin, 55, had divorced his wife and planned to wed former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva, 25, on June 15. "In our matter only some rumours and some facts, which we presumed substantiate these rumours, were reflected. To say, there is no factual base for our publication—we accept this,” the apology said.
"We deeply regret if the information published in our article was insulting. We apologise to all those, who consider that this story has caused them moral sufferings."
A spokesperson for Kabayeva, a member of the Duma (Russia’s lower house Parliament), had denied the report and threatened to sue the tabloid if it didn’t issue an apology.
The Kremlin, which is used to scores of stories being published about President Putin in the so-called 'yellow press', as usual this time also said 'no comments'. The story of Putin-Kabayeva’s romance was based on rumours in the president's hometown St Petersburg that an event-management company has been ordered to make arrangements for their wedding.
"We have drawn other conclusions also, for example, how to work with our sources and how to verify the obtained information," Moskovsky Korrespondent editors wrote, accepting that in the course of pursuing their duty as journalist to inform the public, they unwittingly "crossed the permissible limits" in the Russian society.
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