Vladimir Putin

52a544853987c914150f6a7067008c7a.jpg

In this Thursday, July 14, 2011 file photo, Ildus Faizov, a top Muslim cleric in the Volga River province of Tatarstan, addresses Russia's then-premier Vladimir Putin, unseen, in Kazan, about 700 kilometers (450 miles) east of Moscow. Faizov, known for his criticism of radical Islamist groups known as Salafists, was wounded Thursday,J uly 19, 2012, after an explosive device ripped through his car in Kazan. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Pool, File)

20120717-201459-pic-718889857.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Kofi Annan, the U.N. envoy for the Syrian crisis, conferred in Moscow on Tuesday on efforts to end the fighting in Syria. (Associated Press)

Russia Syria_Live.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses Russian ambassadors July 9, 2012, during a meeting in the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. (Associated Press)

Mideast Israel Russia_Lea(1).jpg

Theophilos III (left), patriarch of Jerusalem, welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service)

Mideast Israel Russia_Lea.jpg

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Israeli President Shimon Peres (center) leave after the inauguration ceremony of a memorial to Red Army veterans of World War II in Netanya, Israel, on Monday June 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Jack Guez, Pool)

20120618-204711-pic-380646052.jpg

** FILE ** President Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. (Associated Press)

US Russia Obama Mexic_Lea.jpg

President Obama holds out his hand to shake Russian President Vladimir Putin's during a bilateral meeting at the G-20 summit on Monday, June 18, 2012, in Los Cabos, Mexico. (Associated Press)

20120617-205023-pic-893371001.jpg

Protesters chant slogans against the Syrian regime and Russia's support of President Bashar Assad as they burn a banner Sunday depicting Mr. Assad, his brother, Maher Assad, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the port city of Sidon, Lebanon. (Associated Press)