Vladimir Putin's European adventures

摘要

As Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, sat down for dinner with his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, this week in Paris (one of two state dinners in the Ely-see on the same evening, so that Barack Obama would not cross paths with Mr Putin), he might have been forgiven for thinking that the worst moments of his angry clash with the West were behind him. Even as eastern Ukraine sinks into further conflict, European leaders have little appetite for new sanctions against Russia. With official meetings fixed with Mr Hollande and Britain's David Cameron, the diplomatic isolation threatened by Western leaders is not extending to Mr Putin personally. And France is going ahead with its sale of Mistral-class assault ships to Russia.