Editing Foreign relations of Russia (section)

==== 2000-2006 ====
Putin is often characterized as an [[Autocracy|autocrat]] by the Western media and politicians.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21853-2004Sep14.html ''Stand Up to Putin.'' by Robert Kagan] [[The Washington Post]] 15 September 2004</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/13/opinion/mcfaul.php |title=The myth of Putin's success |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123102209/http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/13/opinion/mcfaul.php|archive-date=23 January 2009}}</ref> His relationship with former U.S. President [[George W. Bush]], former and current Brazilian President [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]], former Venezuelan President [[Hugo Chávez]], former German [[Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic)|Chancellor]] [[Gerhard Schröder]], former French President [[Jacques Chirac]], and former Italian Prime Minister [[Silvio Berlusconi]] are reported to be personally friendly. Putin's relationship with Germany's former Chancellor, [[Angela Merkel]], is reported to be "cooler" and "more business-like" than his partnership with Gerhard Schröder, who accepted a job with a Russian-led consortium after leaving office.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4618860.stm Merkel cools Berlin Moscow ties] BBC News 16 January 2006</ref>

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During the [[Iraq disarmament crisis]] in 2002–2003, Putin opposed Washington's move to invade [[Iraq]], without the benefit of a [[United Nations Security Council]] resolution explicitly authorizing the use of military force. After the official end of the war was announced, U.S. president [[George W. Bush]] asked the United Nations to lift sanctions on Iraq. Putin supported lifting of the sanctions in due course, arguing that the UN commission first be given a chance to complete its work on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}
During the [[2004 Ukrainian presidential election]], Putin twice visited Ukraine before the election to show his support for Ukrainian Prime Minister [[Viktor Yanukovych]], who was widely seen as a pro-Kremlin candidate, and he congratulated him on his anticipated victory before the official election results had been in.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-04-08 |title=Putin Congratulates Yanukovych On Presidential 'Victory' |language=en |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1056008.html |access-date=2023-05-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McFaul |first=Michael |date=13 December 2004 |title=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2004/12/putin-gambles-big-and-loses?lang=en}}</ref> Putin's personal support for Yanukovych was criticized as unwarranted interference in the affairs of a sovereign state (''See also [[Orange Revolution|The Orange revolution]]''). Crises also developed in Russia's relations with [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Moldova]], both former Soviet republics accusing Moscow of supporting separatist entities in their territories.

In 2005, Putin and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder negotiated the construction of a [[Nord Stream 1|major gas pipeline over the Baltic]] exclusively between Russia and Germany. Schröder also attended Putin's 53rd birthday celebration in Saint Petersburg the same year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Schröder to Visit Russia for Putin's Birthday – DW – 10/04/2005 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/schr%C3%B6der-to-visit-russia-for-putins-birthday/a-1729703 |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref>

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The end of 2006 brought strained relations between Russia and Britain, in the wake of the death of [[Alexander Litvinenko|a former FSB officer]] in London by poisoning. On 20 July 2007, UK [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Gordon Brown]] expelled "four Russian envoys over Putin's refusal to extradite ex-KGB agent [[Andrei Lugovoi]], wanted in the UK for the murder of fellow former spy [[Alexander Litvinenko]] in London."<ref name="expul">{{cite news|title=Brown Defends Russian Expulsions, Decries Killings|author=Gonzalo Vina and Sebastian Alison|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=ajvS9NfMW2EE&refer=uk|publisher=Bloomberg News|date=20 July 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930035325/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=ajvS9NfMW2EE&refer=uk|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> The Russian constitution prohibits the extradition of Russian nationals to third countries. British Foreign Secretary [[David Miliband]] said that "this situation is not unique, and other countries have amended their constitutions, for example, to give effect to the European Arrest Warrant".<ref>[http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1183544695364 David Miliband's oral statement to the Commons on the Litvinenko case], 16 July 2007</ref>

When Litvinenko was dying from radiation poisoning, he accused Putin of directing the assassination, in a statement which was released shortly after his death by his friend [[Alexander Goldfarb (biologist)|Alex Goldfarb]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6180262.stm |title=In full: Litvinenko statement |work=BBC News |date=24 November 2006}}</ref> Critics have doubted that Litvinenko is the true author of the released statement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.izvestia.ru/investigation/article3098756/?print |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517123057/http://www.izvestia.ru/investigation/article3098756/?print |url-status=dead |title=В смерти Литвиненко виновен советский "Луноход"?|archive-date=17 May 2011|website=iz.ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/PatrickJBuchanan/2006/11/27/is_putin_being_set_u |title=Conservative Columnists with Political News Commentary, Analysis |publisher=Townhall.com |access-date=18 July 2015}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> When asked about the Litvinenko accusations, Putin said that a statement released posthumously of its author "naturally deserves no comment".<ref>[http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2006/11/24/2355_type82914type82915_114506.shtml Joint Press Conference after Russia-EU Summit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305001248/http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2006/11/24/2355_type82914type82915_114506.shtml |date=5 March 2008}}, Helsinki, Finland, 24 November 2006</ref>

The expulsions were seen as "the biggest rift since the countries expelled each other's diplomats in 1996 after a spying dispute."<ref name="expul" /> In response to the situation, Putin stated "I think we will overcome this mini-crisis. Russian-British relations will develop normally. On both the Russian side and the British side, we are interested in the development of those relations."<ref name="expul" /> Despite this, British Ambassador [[Tony Brenton]] was told by the Russian Foreign Ministry that UK diplomats would be given 10 days before they were expelled in response. The Russian government also announced that it would suspend issuing visas to UK officials, and froze cooperation on counterterrorism, in response to Britain suspending contacts with their Federal Security Service.<ref name="expul" />

Alexander Shokhin, president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, warned that British investors in Russia will "face greater scrutiny from tax and regulatory authorities. [And] They could also lose out in government tenders".<ref name="expul" /> Some see the crisis as originating with Britain's decision to grant Putin's former patron, Russian billionaire [[Boris Berezovsky (businessman)|Boris Berezovsky]], political asylum in 2003.<ref name="expul" /> Earlier in 2007, Berezovsky had called for the overthrow of Putin.<ref name="expul" />