TIMESONLINE: Tony Blair told Vladimir Putin yesterday that the world was becoming more and more afraid of Russia’s behaviour at home and abroad.
And as he left his last G8 summit in Germany Mr Blair predicted a lengthy period of deep freeze in relations between Russia and the West.
The two men, who have been sparring with each other from a distance for weeks, had a tense, hour-long encounter in the Caroline Room at the Kempinski Grand Hotel. Mr Blair emerged alone, a fixed smile on his face.
But when he spoke to reporters later at Rostock airport shortly before flying home he did not attempt to disguise that it had been a hard encounter or that he had been frustrated by the outcome. Blair talks of ‘deep freeze’ after tense encounter with Putin (more) By Philip Webster and David Charter
THE GUARDIAN:
West ‘fearful’ of Russia, says exasperated Blair
THE DAILY MAIL:
'We fear your slide into dictatorship', Blair warns Putin
Mark Alexander
