Putin Behind Closed Doors: Blunt Talks and Kept Promises

Look, Mr. Putin is got, he got all, he's very smart.

Well, you know him better than most people.

Yeah, I did. What, what was he like behind closed doors away from, you know, the sort of the public utterances?

Smart and, um, remarkably, um, we had a really good, blunt relationship.

How blunt? Brutally blunt. Ever like in a fisticuffs?

No, uh, no. But I think, you know, I think the right strategy most of the time is, but it's frustrating to people in your line of work.

You should be brutally honest with people in private, and then if you want them to help you, try to avoid embarrassing them in public.

Right. Now, sometimes they do things which make it impossible for you to keep quiet.

But by and large, I found all the people I dealt with appreciated it if I told them the truth.

Did Putin- How I honestly felt and what our interests were and what our objectives were, and they also appreciated it when I didn't kick them around in public for as long as I couldn't kick them around.

So I, I, you know, that's my experience.

And- Did Putin ever renege on a personal- No ... agreement he made to you?

He did not. So behind closed doors, he could be trusted?

He kept his word in all the deals we made.