When Vladimir Putin became the first Russian leader to visit Australia – for the 2007 APEC summit in Sydney – I had a chance to ask him what he thought of Australia.
“I never think of Australia,” he replied.
Putin has probably not thought of Australia much since, apart from the fuss we made over Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine shooting down Malaysian Airlines MH17 in 2014, and his visit to Brisbane in 2014 for a G20 leaders summit.