Former US President George W. Bush believed he had a "sense of his soul". British ex-premier Tony Blair thought he deserved a place at the "top table". And French President Emmanuel Macron invited him for hours of talks at his official holiday residence.
For much of President Vladimir Putin's two-and-a-half decades in power, Western leaders thought they understood the strategy of the Kremlin leader and argued that Russia merited a place as an international partner.
