PUTIN: "I am thankful to the people of Athens for the warm reception and ask their forgiveness for certain problems that may have been created,

Russian President Vladimir Putin was the only world leader to apologize for the inconvenience his visit created to the residents of the Greek capital of Athens, national media reported.

ATHENS (Sputnik) – The outlet singled out Putin’s remark made at joint statements with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras as unique in the face of customary safety measures and traffic arrangements during official visits.

"I am thankful to the people of Athens for the warm reception and ask their forgiveness for certain problems that may have been created," Putin was quoted as saying by the news247.gr online news outlet late Friday.