Relations With The West
Vladimir Putin has often been publicly critical of the foreign policies of the United States and other Western countries. Generally speaking, he has publicly stated his suspicion of the motives behind NATO expansion, objected to the planned US Missile Defense system, and engaged in both positive and acrimonious dialogue with members of the European Union. Some commentators have linked this increase in hostility towards the West with the global rise in oil prices.
While Putin is often characterised as an autocrat by the Western media and some politicians, his relationship with former U.S. President George W. Bush, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, former French President Jacques Chirac, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi are reported to be personally friendly. Putin's relationship with Germany's new Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is reported to be "cooler" and "more business-like" than his partnership with Gerhard Schröder.
British historian Max Hastings described Putin as "Stalin's spiritual heir" in his article "Will we have to fight Russia in this Century?". British academic Norman Stone in his article "No wonder they like Putin" compared Putin to General Charles de Gaulle. Adi Ignatius argues that "Putin... is not a Stalin. There are no mass purges in Russia today, no broad climate of terror. But Putin is reconstituting a strong state, and anyone who stands in his way will pay for it." In the same article, Hastings continues that although "a return to the direct military confrontation of the Cold War is unlikely", "the notion of Western friendship with Russia is a dead letter".
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