Putin still has much to prove to Europeans

As Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, takes the chair at the summit of world leaders in St Petersburg on 15 July 2006, he will be seeking to prove that he and his country are respected and trustworthy partners in the Group of Eight industrialised nations. Yet according to a Harris poll conducted for the Financial Times in five leading countries of western Europe, he still has a lot to prove to ordinary European citizens. Most (44 per cent) are not sure if he can be trusted, and the next largest group (36 per cent) is convinced that he cannot. Only one in five is prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.