Vladimir Putin

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National Edition News cover for May 1, 2015 - CHINA, RUSSIA GET COZY: Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during their meeting in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2013. Russia is Xi Jinping's first foreign destination as China's president. Xi's talks with Putin on Friday are set to focus on oil and gas as China seeks to secure new energy resources to fuel its growing economy. (AP Photo/Sergei Karpukhin, Pool)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met five times last year and "will meet at least as many times this year," said Andrey Denisov, Russia's ambassador to Beijing. (Associated Press)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, greets former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, right, as he meets with members of the Elders group in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 29, 2015. (Sergei Karpukhin/Pool Photo via AP)

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From left, Armenian Apostolic Church leader, Catholicos Garegin II, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a ceremony at the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide memorial complex in Yerevan, Armenia, Friday, April 24, 2015. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorized a string of provocative moves from the Arctic to the Black Sea in recent months in an attempt to intimidate NATO allies along the border for the old Soviet Union, including Hungary, Romania and Latvia, and boost allies of Moscow living in those countries. (Associated Press)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Monday, April 20, 2015. (Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as he visits the National Defense Control Center in Moscow, Russia, Friday, April 17, 2015. (Alexei Nikolsky/ RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) ** FILE **

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Israeli officials said the decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow the missile system sale was a clear sign that Tehran is already cashing in on a tentative nuclear deal with world powers, a deal that includes an easing of sanctions on the Iranian economy and faces a deadline of the end of June for a final deal. (Associated Press)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and singer Larisa Dolina sing the national anthem at a rally marking the one year anniversary of annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, outside the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Speaking to tens of thousands of supporters just outside the Kremlin walls, President Vladimir Putin has described Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula as a move to protect ethnic Russians and regain the nation's "historic roots." (AP Photo/Maxim Shipenkov, Pool)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles during his meeting in the Konstantin Palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia, March 16, 2015. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in the Konstantin Palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, March 16, 2015. Putin resurfaced Monday after a 10-day absence from public view. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service) ** FILE **

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Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 10, 2015.(AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service)

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Vladimir Putin Cartoon by Herb, Dagningen, Lillehammer, Norway/CartoonArts International

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Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures at the award ceremony in St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015. President Putin awarded World War II veterans with jubilee medals marking the 70th victory anniversary of World War II. (AP Photo/Sergei Ilnitsky, Pool) ** FILE **

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Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a question during his and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban news conference at the parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with representatives of a war veteran's organizations in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence, outside Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti Kremlin, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks to the media after the peace talks in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday emerged from marathon Ukraine peace talks by announcing a new cease-fire deal, but questions remained whether Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels have agreed on its terms.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, pool)