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The Russian President has had an uneasy relationship with Brussels for some time – but the Kremlin has voiced particular concern over the bloc’s activity in eastern Europe. The EU’s tough stance has been particularly noticeable following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. And Moscow's reputation was done no favours by the Salisbury poisoning incident in March 2018. However, in eerie echoes of that very incident, Putin referenced poison as he dismantled the EU’s conduct with Russia’s close neighbours.

Appearing on World Order 2018, an Amazon Prime documentary hosted by Vladimir Solovjev, the Russian President discussed topics rarely answered by world leaders.

In it, Mr Solovjev argued: “We can see how the EU is trying to lead away our traditional allies.

“They are working on Belarus, Kazakhstan and now they are very active in Armenia.

“We can see how they drip poison into their ears.

“We should do something about it. Our allies are leaving us.”