Putin visit spares UK anxieties

By Bridget Kendall
BBC diplomatic correspondent

Gesture politics: Downing St went to lengths to impress Putin

On the face of it, it was just another routine summit: the six-monthly meeting Russian presidents now regularly hold with the leaders of the European Union. Oh, and a bilateral UK-Russian summit tagged on.

In fact, there was a lot riding on this visit to London by President Vladimir Putin.

Both his EU hosts and his UK ones were anxious it should be deemed a success, so there was no danger of a gradual slide into a new EU-Russia chill, as some had feared might happen a year ago.

Tony Blair had particular reason to be anxious.

The issue of energy - supplies of Russian oil and gas to fill the vacuum left by galloping demand and diminishing North Sea supplies - was a subject where he could be relatively sure the leaders would find common ground. The need to combat terrorism - an urgent security priority since the July bombings in London - was another.

But UK relations with Russia had deteriorated since President Putin was last a guest in Downing Street on his state visit to the UK in 2003.

The UK's refusal to extradite a prominent Chechen separatist wanted by Russia on terrorist charges, or a wealthy and highly critical former oligarch whom the Russian government wants to prosecute, had infuriated Mr Putin.

He clearly did not find convincing the UK's insistence it was nothing to do with the Blair government if the British courts gave them both political asylum.

Only last week Russian officials were still talking of double standards and wondering if the UK would reconsider the extradition requests.

Unprecedented access

So for Mr Blair, it seems, the most important purpose of this week's summit was not so much to reach concrete deals.

There was one, which is an important first step towards an eventual visa-free regime between Russia and Europe - the easing of visa restrictions and agreement by Russia that it would take back any illegal migrants caught crossing into Europe.

But it seems a key aim was to find some symbolic way to rebuild trust which had begun to be badly shaken.

And in Downing Street, the Blair team came up with a gesture that could not be more redolent with symbolism.

Not only was Mr Putin invited to discuss new counter-terrorism collaboration face-to-face with the UK's spy chiefs.

The Russian leader, who had once been a Soviet KGB agent, was taken down to meet them in the crisis centre called Cobra. This is the underground bunker where British cabinet ministers and security chiefs gather in a national emergency, such as the bombings on 7 July.

And it did not pass unnoticed that the Russian president was the first foreign leader so honoured.

Neither Mr Blair's European allies, like Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, nor German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, nor even his US pal George W Bush had been given this access.

Quite a turnaround from the days of the Soviet Union. Quite a shift in alliances. A gesture that could not fail to impress a man like Mr Putin.

And it seems it did the trick. The conversation was "fascinating" according to Mr Blair.

Mr Putin thanked the British side for their "candour" on sensitive issues.

A joint statement confirmed a new intention to work closely together in the future.

'Deeper understanding'

There has been disquiet in the UK about some aspects of Mr Putin's Russia, which have been interpreted as a retreat from democracy.

Some UK observers are concerned by Russia's role in Chechnya

Issues include the bringing of most national TV channels under strict state control; the abrupt arrest and questionable trial of Russia's richest oil magnate and the dark warnings by Mr Putin that foreign charities could not be trusted, followed up by raids on and criminal charges threatened against none other than the highly respected British Council.

There have been repeated reports from respected organisations like Amnesty International of continued human rights violations by Russian troops in Chechnya.

But as so often these days on President Putin's visits abroad, these were not the main focus of discussion.

EU and UK officials argue that such subjects do get raised, but in private.

And that anyway building a stronger relationship with Russia is the best way to seek to influence it.

But it is also probably true that Mr Putin's reputation for being rather thin-skinned when it comes to criticism now precedes him.

Officials conclude that challenging him openly could be counterproductive.

Press conferences are kept to a minimum to avoid some embarrassing outburst.

The focus instead is kept intently on the positive.

And it seems to have worked.

"We have begun to understand each other a lot better, trust in each other is growing," said Mr Putin to Russian reporters at Heathrow airport. Then he boarded his plane to fly home.