Blair makes a goodwill trip to meet Putin

MOSCOW, MARCH 12: As Western leaders debate over the approach they should adopt to Acting President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister...

MOSCOW, MARCH 12: As Western leaders debate over the approach they should adopt to Acting President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair flew to Russia yesterday to what he said “engage the new Kremlin leader”, the front-runner in the March 26 presidential elections.

Blair was the first head of state, among the G-7 countries, to visit Russia, although a number of Western leaders have paid a visit to Moscow, in the past weeks, in their effort to closely assess and establish personal rapport with the man likely to rule Russia for at least the next four years.

Blair’s tacit endorsement of Putin is likely to boost the Acting President ahead of the presidential elections, Russian media said.

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The visit was also a clear sign that Putin has singled out Britain from the European countries, with which he hopes to integrate Russia first.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, British Secretary Robin Cook, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, German Foreign Minister Joseha Fischer and NATO Secretary-General George Robertson travelled to Russia to build up a wider network of contacts in Moscow.

Interestingly, Russian media painted a picture of Western leaders, making a beeline for Putin, with their tails between their legs to apologise for Kosovo and the criticism of the Kremlin over the Chechen campaign.

Blair used his talks in St Petersburg, an invitation by Putin to visit his hometown, to urge the Kremlin to scale down the continuing military campaign against terrorists in Chechnya to a “proportionate response” and conduct inquiry into the alleged human rights abuses in the break-away republic.

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On his part, Putin assured Blair that it was important that Russia appreciated the basis of British concerns.

“It’s important for the Russian leadership to understand what causes such a position, and what it is aimed at in order to correct our own policy, including in Chechnya. The corrections are made after meetings like today’s,” Putin said.

Analysts said, Blair’s decision to accept the invitation to a day of talks and a performance of Prokofiyev’s War and Peace in St Petersburg virtually turned out to be a coup for Putin to emerge on the world stage.

In an apparent attempt to smooth the way for cordial talks between the two leaders, the Kremlin adopted a dramatically new tone in response to international requests for access to Chechnya.

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Putin made it clear to Blair that Russia was willing to lead the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE) or the Council of Europe to play a role in Chechnya, without specifying what such organizations would do, Interfax news agency said.

Until now, the Kremlin had rejected any political role to foreign observers, insisting Chechnya is an internal matter of Russia and restricting foreign involvement only to the humanitarian assistance.