Hillary Clinton Advised Barack Obama To Take Tough Line With 'Thin-Skinned' Vladimir Putin

Former secretary of state left US president a guide to dealing with the Russian leader when she stepped down from office, telling him not to 'appear too eager' to work together

By Damien McElroy, 5:44PM BST 09 Jun 2014

Hillary Clinton provided President Barack Obama with a last minute briefing on Vladimir Putin that advised him not to "appear too eager" during encounters with the Russian leader.

Extracts from her autobiography include reflections on this last act as the US secretary of state in light of the Ukraine crisis.

Compiling a guide to handling the Russian leader, Mrs Clinton suggested the US president treated him with a degree of cool indifference and she now believes this attitude helpfully signalled to Mr Putin that there would be consequences for his landgrab in Ukraine.

"Don't appear too eager to work together. Don't flatter Putin with high-level attention," the note had said. "If Putin is restrained and doesn't push beyond Crimea into eastern Ukraine it will not be because he has lost his appetite for more power, territory and influence."

Overall her assessment was that Mr Putin was increasingly dictatorial and unpleasant. "He also proved over time to be thin-skinned and autocratic, resenting criticism and eventually cracking down on dissent and debate," she said.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10885948/Hillary-Clinton-advised-Barack-Obama-to-take-tough-line-with-thin-skinned-Vladimir-Putin.html