During this year’s edition of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Russian leader Vladimir Putin made unusually warm remarks about South Korea, especially given that Seoul is a staunch ally of the U.S.

“We do not see any Russophobic stance when working with the South Korean government. Neither are there any (South Korean) weapons supplies to the conflict zone. We highly appreciate that,” Putin said, before expressing hope that relations with the South would fully recover after the end of hostilities in Ukraine.

The reason for such unusual warmth soon became clear when Vladimir Putin signed a treatywith North