Putin kissed boy 'like a kitten'

Vladimir Putin's decision to stop a small boy as he walked through the Kremlin and kiss his stomach was prompted by a desire to 'touch him like a kitten' the Russian president said today.

The five-year-old boy, identified as Nikita Konkin by the press, was clearly stunned by the kiss. Speculation over Putin's motivation has run wild in the week since it happened. The boy has not washed since the incident.