Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West this afternoon that it would have it no easier under his successor Dmitry Medvedev, who will actively defend Russian interests on the world stage.
Speaking after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin said he had the feeling some world leaders were waiting for his presidency to end as they found it uncomfortable to work with a former KGB spy.
But Mr Putin said Mr Medvedev, who was elected president in the March 2 election, was a Russian patriot who would defend the country's interests.
"I do not think our partners will have it easier with him," Mr Putin told reporters at a joint news briefing with Ms Merkel, who is on the first visit by a foreign leader since Mr Medvedev was elected Russian president.
Ms Merkel said she saw Mr Medvedev as her "immediate partner in dialogue" ahead of the Group of Eight's meeting in Japan later this year. Mr Medvedev will host Ms Merkel separately at a later meeting.
Ms Merkel was expected to voice concern about the fairness of the vote Mr Medvedev won and assess the prospects for any shift in policy under the incoming head of state, who will be sworn in as president in May.
International observers and opposition groups have criticised the March election as unfair. Mr Putin says the election was held in strict accordance with the Russian constitution.
The relationship between Mr Medvedev and Ms Merkel, a physicist from the former East Germany who speaks Russian, is likely to play a key role in relations between the two countries and with the European Union.
Mr Merkel, who has in the past scolded Mr Putin over human rights, has also sought to boost trade with Russia's booming economy and to mediate between Moscow, Washington and Russia's EU partners.
Germany is by far Russia's biggest single trading partner, with a record $52.8 billion in bilateral trade in 2007. German firms put $3.4 billion into Russia last year and have key investments in Russia's energy sector.
Ruhrgas has a 6 per cent stake in Russia's gas giant Gazprom and Russo-German pipeline group Nord Stream is building a multi-billion dollar sub-sea gas pipeline from Russia to Western Europe.