Russian President Vladimir Putin, 64, a former KGB agent, served as prime minister from 1999-2000, then two presidential terms from 2000-2008, before shifting into the prime minister’s seat again for four years because of term limits. [Months of controversy leaves Trump ‘boxed in’ ahead of Putin meeting]Enter Trump, who professed admiration for Putin during his campaign for the U.S. presidency, calling Putin a stronger leader than Obama. He can deliver quite hard messages.”Putin has developed a long list of grievances over U.S. actions, which he often recites to start meetings, former Obama aides said. In meetings, Putin would refer to “Ukrainian fascists,” former Obama aides said. The Russian leader is typically the only person on his side of the table who speaks, the former aides said.

Source: Washington Post July 05, 2017 20:58 UTC