Igor Shuvalov, the first deputy prime minister and Mr Putin's right-hand man, was in London (where his son studies) when Georgia erupted.

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But on the other hand, Mr. Putin did seem to open the door a bit to more discussions on this issue.

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But Clinton had no success trying to persuade Yeltsin's hand-picked successor, Vladimir Putin, to accept a new defense deal that would involve changes to the ABM treaty, and so he leaves the hard decisions on national missile defense to his successors.

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Some European and American observers have already declared that Putin has now trumped every card in the American hand.

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Putin is running for President, marking his second return after his hand picked successor, Medvedev, served a one year term.

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