Putin shows gift for banter, sarcastic brush-offs

By Conor Sweeney

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin's four-hour performance at the Kremlin on Thursday mixed flirtatious banter with metaphors about snot and showed a gift for sarcastic brush-offs worthy of a stand-up comedian.

Putin twice referred to a runny nose during the annual presidential news conference -- to dismiss rumors about his personal wealth and to discuss the pressures of public office.

Newspaper reports about his alleged fortune were just rubbish, said Putin, "excavated from someone's nose and then spread on those bits of paper".

Explaining how he worked his guts out "like a galley slave" for eight years in the Kremlin, Putin said leaders must take firm decisions and not wobble in the face of adversity.

"Heads of state have no right to whinge, or drool for any reason... If they are going to slobber and blow snot and say things are bad, bad, then that's how it will be," Putin said.

The Russian was also sympathetic towards U.S. President George W. Bush. "Sometimes you have to make decisions that nobody else can make... Do you think Bush has it easy?" he said.

Many Russian journalists held up signs to attract Putin's attention in the Round Hall of the Kremlin packed with hundreds of domestic and international reporters.

When one young woman said she had a golden heart to present to him on Valentine's Day, Putin invited her to step down from her seat and pass it on to his officials.