“I am sure your energy, optimism and sense of humour will help to defeat the disease,” Putin wrote in a letter to Boris.
The “sense of humour” comment doubtless stems from their first meeting in Moscow during Boris’s ill-fated stint as Foreign Minister.
In the post-meeting Press Conference Boris pointed to the new level of trust now established, epitomised by him leaving his jacket containing his wallet in an adjacent room.
At that his Russian counterpart interjected saying the wallet had proved to have nothing in it, so, so much for trust.