Shifting Perspectives: President Putin and the West
By Simon Yel , Kuala-Lumpur-Malaysia
There is always a danger of diplomatic niceties or overt praise coming back to bite you, especially when the positive things you said publicly were about someone who then, er, launches an invasion.
These days, Vladimir Putin is persona non grata in Paris, London and Washington. He is a bad, bad man, say the West’s presidents and prime ministers. But that isn’t what they always thought. Let me take you on a Putin-themed trip down memory lane..
George W. Bush: ‘I looked the man in the eye. I was able to get a sense of his soul.’
Former US president in 2001
Tony Blair once viewed Putin as ‘open, forward looking’ and a ‘moderniser’
The then prime minister made the comments in 2000.
Silvio Berlusconi admired ‘Putin’s macho, decisive and authoritarian governing style’
Former Italian prime minister in 2001
Barack Obama praised the ‘extraordinary work’ done by Putin on behalf of Russian people
Current US president in 2009.
Gerhard Schroeder: Putin is a ‘flawless democrat’
The former German chancellor says he stands by the comment. He now works for Russian energy giant Gazprom.
Nicolas Sarkozy called Putin a ‘direct, courageous, determined man, capable of accepting and understanding’
The then French president issued the praise in 2007.
About Post Author
