I have no idea how Putin feels about Cruz, but I doubt he is scared of him. But, Putin knows, if Trump were president, he can bully him. Trump would be a bonanza for the Russia.
TRUMP: Vladimir Putin's praise is 'a great honor'
Business Insider ^ | December 17, 2015 | By Maxwell Tani
Republican US presidential front-runner Donald Trump is apparently "honored" that Russian President Vladimir Putin considers the real-estate magnate a "flamboyant" and "very talented" man.
"It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond," Trump said in a statement, according to Politico.
He continued: "I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect."
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
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"I think that I would probably get along with him [Putin] very well."
--Donald Trump, CBS' Face The Nation, Oct 2015