On Monday evening he met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street for about 30 minutes.

It was an informal meeting for "a person who has met the British premier before and is still a caretaker prime minister," according to one source. Thaksin, who bought a large flat in an exclusive area near the London School of Economics last autumn, also discussed the political turmoil in Bangkok.

He explained why he did not take up the premiership despite his party winning more than

half of the total vote, the source said.

In Paris he met French President Jacques Chirac informally for 30 minutes at his Elysee Palace residence.

The French media described Thaksin as a "departing prime minister", who was taking a break before leaving power.

On Wednesday, in Moscow, he discussed bilateral issues with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Itar-Tass news agency, Putin told Thaksin he hoped bilateral relations would not be thrown off track by the "stormy" Thai situation.

"We know the political situation in your country is fairly stormy," Putin was quoted as saying during a meeting at his official country residence outside Moscow.

"But I want to express hope that the basis we have laid for our relations serves to develop [ties between the two nations]," Putin said.

Putin and Thaksin met several times last year, most recently in December in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of an Asean summit.

Yesterday, Thaksin arrived in Japan to meet Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Officials are tentatively making arrangements for a meeting today between the two leaders, said Satoshi Katahira, a spokesman for the Japanese foreign office.

Katahira declined to reveal the topics of discussion and the Thai embassy in Tokyo said Thaksin's visit was private.

He is scheduled to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, in Beijing before returning to Thailand this weekend.