'Truly Evil, A Real-Life Bond Villain': An Ex-PM Describes Vladimir Putin

Formidable, impressive, intelligent, extraordinarily disciplined, very manipulative, truly evil, and a real-life Bond villain: these are the words that former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper used to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In an opinion piece written for the Canadian news organisation The Globe and Mail, Harper recalled his days as Canada's leader and his relationship with Putin during that time.

In the article, Harper acknowledged that Putin is smart and hard-working, but he also accused him of being extremely manipulative and "truly evil".

"At no time did I think Mr Putin should be dismissed or taken lightly. He is a formidable and, in many ways, very impressive individual. He is intelligent and extraordinarily disciplined. He comes to international meetings extremely well briefed and knowing exactly what he wants. He is also very manipulative, no doubt part of his background as an intelligence officer, appearing soft-spoken, almost shy, while being quick to spot weaknesses in others and exploit them. I suppose it was that veneer that I was most eager to puncture," Harper wrote.

"Of all the famous people I have met, I still get asked more about Mr Putin than about any other. I guess it is because he is a real-life Bond villain. And make no mistake, for all his strong attributes, he is a truly evil individual. He has knowingly and deliberately inflicted great and avoidable harm in his country and around the world. As it turned out, I would soon have more to say on that," Harper added. 

Harper served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015 and had a hostile relationship with Putin marked by diplomatic clashes and Harper's public condemnation of the Russian leader as a global security threat. 

After Russia's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, the Harper government imposed one of the toughest economic sanctions on Russia. 

Harper later told Putin that he needed "to get out of Ukraine" when the two met at the G20 summit in Brisbane in 2014.