Correcting America’s stance towards the world was never going to be simple. But for Barack Obama, who arrives in Russia on Monday for the most important bilateral visit so far in his term as US president, the complexities of “resetting” Washington’s relationship with a wounded but ebullient Moscow put most others in the shade.

Mr Obama, whose first meeting with Dmitry Medvedev at the Group of 20 summit in April was surprisingly warm, has said he wants to put US relations with Russia on a more stable footing after years of irritable communication between George W. Bush, the former US president, and Vladimir Putin, then the Russian leader.