The Prime Minister will meet Vladimir Putin for the first time at the G20 summit in China. Faced with the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency in the US, Putin will be keener than might be expected to establish a positive relationship.

He will, as ever, be formidably well briefed and direct. He will appreciate, and reciprocate, Mrs May's forensic, no nonsense style. But he will react sharply to any challenge on Russia's key concerns.

His brittleness comes from his conviction that the vastly stronger West is out to do Russia down. Even so, he probably feels that, currently, things are moving his way.