Pipeline power

How easily we forget! Who, for instance, was the first of the world’s major leaders to talk to George W. Bush after 9/11? No, it wasn’t Blair. Or the democratically elected leaders of Canada, Australia, France, Germany or Denmark. It was Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the new President of Russia. He was staying at his villa on the Black Sea when, like the rest of the developed world, he watched the satellite pictures as the Twin Towers came tumbling down. His response was to phone Bush immediately and to tell him that at such a time his Russian government would not just talk about being helpful but would also take action to be supportive. He would personally request the Central Asian governments (and former Soviet satellites) of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to allow the Americans to set up military bases in their territories. Not only that, he would travel himself to Washington and Texas to create a unique photo opportunity: Putin and Bush with jackets off and smiles applied not with Araldite but Velcro.