Is Russian President Vladimir Putin, like most political leaders, predisposed to spinning the truth for his own benefit? Or does he go far beyond that, governing Russia and dealing with his neighbours and the rest of the world with reckless mendacity, abetted by a supine national media? Sometimes, in answering questions like this, we can draw not only on what we have heard and seen, but also on personal experience.
I first met Putin in October 1999 in Helsinki, when I was attending a European Union-Russia summit as the EU’s external-affairs commissioner. President Boris Yeltsin cancelled his attendance at the last …read more
Source: European Voice
