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The reports by Russia’s news agency that Chretien met Putin in one of his palaces near Moscow on Thursday appeared to catch the Conservatives off-guard.

The meeting was a slap to the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which has moved to politically isolate the Russian leader, blaming him for the unrest in Ukraine and Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year.

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Thus it must have been a tempting proposition when former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was offered the opportunity of a one-on-one session with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Chrétien is a member of the InterAction Council, an old-boys club of former presidents and prime ministers that gets together regularly to discuss world affairs and issue recommendations and endorsements.

As co-chair of the council, it is logical enough that he would have been the one chosen to meet Putin, reportedly in a palace near Moscow. The Russian news agency, Tass, said Putin agreed to a “brief conversation” with “former Prime Minister Jean-Loup Chrétien” based on warm relations they formed when Chrétien was prime minister. (Tass appears to have confused the former prime minister with Jean-Loup Chrétien, a French general and former astronaut who took part in two Soviet space missions).

“It’s well known that they have friendly relations,” said Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov, “or I’d even say relations of partnership.” Indeed, in January of last year, Chrétien was awarded Russia’s Order of Friendship for “his substantial contribution to the strengthening and development of friendship and co-operation with the Russian Federation.”