Vladimir Putin

Russia Putin.JPEG-0ac2e.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony of presentation of credentials by foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, May 28, 2015. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Russia Putin.JPEG-0ac2e.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony of presentation of credentials by foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, May 28, 2015. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Russia Investors.JPEG-0bb6c.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks at the 10th business forum "Business Russia" in Moscow on Tuesday, May 26, 2015. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to downplay the effects of U.S. and European sanctions on his country's economy, asserting that Russia has managed to survive the economic assault from the West. (Associated Press)

8afddd0cb2ad1716770f6a706700dd2d.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin attend a meeting of the Victory Day celebrations organizing committee in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, in this March 17, 2015, file photo. (Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

Russia Putin.JPEG-0e525.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a meeting with representatives of top military brass and defense industries at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, May 12, 2015. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

5_112015_kerry-putin8201.jpg

Secretary of State John F. Kerry hopes to keep the Ukraine situation separate from his push for a new dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Syria, U.S. officials said Monday. (Associated Press)

Russia Victory Parade.JPEG-08998.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, in Red Square, Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

20150501-national-news-cover.jpg

National Edition News cover for May 1, 2015 - CHINA, RUSSIA GET COZY: Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during their meeting in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2013. Russia is Xi Jinping's first foreign destination as China's president. Xi's talks with Putin on Friday are set to focus on oil and gas as China seeks to secure new energy resources to fuel its growing economy. (AP Photo/Sergei Karpukhin, Pool)

4_302015_allies8201.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met five times last year and "will meet at least as many times this year," said Andrey Denisov, Russia's ambassador to Beijing. (Associated Press)

Russia Putin.JPEG-03abe.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, greets former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, right, as he meets with members of the Elders group in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 29, 2015. (Sergei Karpukhin/Pool Photo via AP)

Armenia Slaughter Centennial.JPEG-0cfab.jpg

From left, Armenian Apostolic Church leader, Catholicos Garegin II, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a ceremony at the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide memorial complex in Yerevan, Armenia, Friday, April 24, 2015. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Putin.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorized a string of provocative moves from the Arctic to the Black Sea in recent months in an attempt to intimidate NATO allies along the border for the old Soviet Union, including Hungary, Romania and Latvia, and boost allies of Moscow living in those countries. (Associated Press)

3fb4f851b6a13411740f6a706700e0e7.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Monday, April 20, 2015. (Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia Putin.JPEG-0b8a9.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as he visits the National Defense Control Center in Moscow, Russia, Friday, April 17, 2015. (Alexei Nikolsky/ RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) ** FILE **

VladimirPutin.jpg

Israeli officials said the decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow the missile system sale was a clear sign that Tehran is already cashing in on a tentative nuclear deal with world powers, a deal that includes an easing of sanctions on the Iranian economy and faces a deadline of the end of June for a final deal. (Associated Press)

Russia Putin.JPEG-09168.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin and singer Larisa Dolina sing the national anthem at a rally marking the one year anniversary of annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, outside the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Speaking to tens of thousands of supporters just outside the Kremlin walls, President Vladimir Putin has described Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula as a move to protect ethnic Russians and regain the nation's "historic roots." (AP Photo/Maxim Shipenkov, Pool)

09f0e00314dded0c700f6a706700b4a8.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles during his meeting in the Konstantin Palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia, March 16, 2015. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Russia Putin.JPEG-02362.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in the Konstantin Palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, March 16, 2015. Putin resurfaced Monday after a 10-day absence from public view. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)