Vladimir Putin reveals he is a grandfather in controversial Oliver Stone documentary

The Russian President is notoriously private and rarely gives details about his family

Vladimir Putin has revealed his is grandfather in a new documentary by Hollywood director Oliver Stone.

The American filmmaker was granted access to the Russian president between 2015 and 2017 and has used his footage to create a series called The Putin Interviews.

At one point he captured Mr Putin meeting his daughters Maria and Yekaterina for lunch.

Asked if he had become a grandfather, the Russian leader replied with a simple: “Yes”.

Stone, who is best known for his feature films like Platoon, Wall Street, and JFK, then pushed Mr Putin.

“Are you a good grandfather? Do you play with [your grandchildren] in the garden?” he asked.

“Very seldom, unfortunately,” Mr Putin answered.

Little is known about his two daughters and Mr Putin gave no additional clues, saying only that they were accomplished women. He did not reveal how many grandchildren he has.

The Russian leader’s daughters, who are both in their 30s, reportedly use their husband’s surnames, going by the names of Yekaterina Tikhonova and Maria Faassen.

It is not known whether they will feature in other parts of the documentary, the first installment of which aired in the US earlier this week.

However, the pair did cover a wide range of topics. Mr Putin revealed that he had floated the idea of Russia joining Nato with former US President Bill Clinton in 2000.

The pair also discussed the country’s treatment of homosexuals.

Mr Putin defended the country's controversial law on banning dissemination to minors of "propaganda" legitimising homosexuality.

"The reasoning behind this law is to provide children with the opportunity to grow up without impacting their consciousness," he said.

Although there is widespread animosity toward homosexuality in Russia and authorities regularly deny gay rights activists permission to rally, Mr Putin claimed "our society is liberal-minded to a great extent."

He also noted that there is no formal prohibition of LGBT people in the military.

Stone asked if the president would take a shower on a submarine with a gay crewman.

"I prefer not to go to the shower with him," Mr Putin replied. "Why provoke him?"

Stone has come under fire for his four-part documentary series and has been accused of creating nothing but a “fawning interview with a brutal dictator” by Stephen Colbert when he appeared on The Late Show.

The filmmaker said he respected Mr Putin for being a head of state and having “his own interests in Russia”.

He later defended the president, saying that “he never really said anything bad about anybody. And he’s really been through a lot, and he’s been insulted and abused… in the press and the media."