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Vladimir Putin: the man with the killer eyes

WikiLeaks cable details EU commissioner Chris Patten's description of Russian leader's reaction to Chechnya and extremism
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin's eyes became 'those of a killer' when Chechnya was mentioned, WikiLeaks cables showed Photograph: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images

Over a dinner of "rubbery fish" the EU's external affairs commissioner, Chris Patten, gave a withering assessment of Vladimir Putin, saying that he had "killer eyes".

A cable from the US embassy in Brussels reveals that Patten spoke in disparaging terms of Russia's then president. Putin had pursued a career in the KGB, his father had been a Communist party apparatchik and his grandfather was part of Lenin's special protection team, Patten noted. "He [Putin] seems a completely reasonable man when discussing the Middle East or energy policy. But when the conversation shifts to Chechnya or Islamic extremism Putin's eyes turn to those of a killer," Patten said, according to the cable from 2004 released by WikiLeaks.

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