They do seem to have the respectful relationship of old adversaries. In the past, they have not been warm and tactile with each other in the way, say, Mrs Merkel and US President Barack Obama were when he visited Berlin (before the revelation that his people were listening in on her phone). But that is not her way, or his.
Chancellor Merkel has involved herself in the politics of the region. She has maintained links with heads of state, including President Putin, but also with dissidents in both Russia and Ukraine - remember that the jailed Russian oligarch and Putin opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky flew straight to Berlin when he was freed from his Russian prison.
