Putin turning up the heat in the new Cold War
Is it mere bluster or is Russian President Vladimir Putin really serious about provoking a new Cold War? Kremlin-watchers have posed the question ever since Mr Putin introduced a more assertive foreign policy aimed at what he regards as the West's encroachment on Russia's natural sphere of influence.
The trouble started when the Bush administration announced that it wanted to set up a defensive missile shield in Europe that would protect it against attacks from rogue states such as Iran.
Washington's plan to site the shield's missile silo and radar station in Poland and the Czech Republic respectively, was seen by Mr Putin as an act of provocation.
As a former KGB officer who made his career in eastern Europe, Mr Putin has taken great exception to the way former satellite states of the Soviet Union have not only embraced Western democratic values, but have readily signed up to Western institutions, from the European Union and even to Nato.
At the start of his presidency, Russia was in such a chaotic state that he was powerless to challenge US supremacy. But by bringing the country's vast energy wealth under the Kremlin's control, Mr Putin has gained the confidence and ability to re-assert Russian influence and power.
This has progressed to the extent that there is now genuine concern in the West that relations between Washington and Moscow could return to Cold War levels.
Mr Putin's announcement yesterday that Russia is to resume the Soviet-era practice of sending its bomber aircraft on long-range flights is just the latest of many sabre-rattling exercises to warn the West to keep out of his east European back yard. During the summer, the Russians are reported to have successfully test-fired a new ballistic missile capable of penetrating Washington's proposed missile shield, conducted military exercises with the Chinese and flown several sorties close to British air space.
Moscow has also flexed its muscles in the diplomatic arena, blocking the United Nations' proposed settlement of the long-standing Kosovo issue and supporting Iran in its efforts to gain nuclear technology.
An expedition this month planted a Russian flag 14,000 ft below the North Pole to lay symbolic claim to the Arctic.
By acting in this way, Mr Putin believes he may be able to force Poland and the Czech Republic to reconsider their support for the American missile shield.
But while there has undoubtedly been a serious deterioration in East-West relations, it is unrealistic to talk in terms of a return to the kind of military stand-off that characterised the Cold War. Mr Putin's stunts are designed to remind the world that Russia cannot be ignored rather than seriously challenging Washington's military dominance.
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