Strongman, The

don’t matter.” So I said, “Well in that case can we stop this diplomatic sword dance about membership and actually get down to building a practical relationship and let’s see where that takes us?” ’ 22
    Undeterred, Putin continued to woo the West with conciliatory gestures. On his return from Brussels to Moscow he approved the closure of two Soviet-era military facilities abroad – a naval base at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam and a listening post at Lourdes in Cuba. In private, Russian officials admit that these had become expensive white elephants that they were glad to get rid of. But still they hoped they would be seen as goodwill signals that deserved to be reciprocated. Moscow was looking for accommodation on a number of longstanding concerns. An American Soviet-era law, known as the Jackson–Vanik amendment, was introduced in 1974 to restrict trade with the USSR until it lifted restrictions on Jewish emigration. The problem had long since vanished, but Jackson–Vanik was still on the statute books, despite Russian pleading (and American promises to repeal it). Russia also wanted to join the World Trade Organisation to facilitate the growth of its economy, but the US blocked its application and increased tariffs on Russian steel imports. Above all, Putin was still hoping that his good behaviour might earn a reprieve for the ABM treaty and even persuade the Americans not to go ahead with a missile shield.
    Such hopes were soon to be dashed. George W. Bush had campaigned for the presidency on a promise to build an American national missile defence system, and the ABM treaty stood in his way.
    The issue was top of the agenda when Putin made a state visit to the USA in November 2001. The Americans tried to convince the Russians that they had nothing to fear from a missile shield, since its aim was to protect the United States from missiles that might be developed in the future by ‘rogue states’ such as Iran, Iraq and North Korea (countries he would soon refer to as the ‘axis of evil’). As such the defence system would not destabilise the US–Russian strategic balance. Colin Powell recalls: ‘The president wanted to convey to President Putin that he, Bush, understood that the Cold War was over and that we had to avoid looking at the Russian Federation through the lens of the Cold War.’ 23
    According to deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley, Bush said, ‘My preference would be that we both agree to leave the ABM treaty and we announce cooperation on ballistic missile defence. If it’s better for you, Vladimir, for me just to go unilaterally, so that you’re not part of it – and maybe even criticise it a bit – that’s okay.’ 24
    It was the Americans’ turn now to try to seduce Putin with some good mood music. He was invited to the Bush family ranch at Crawford, Texas. Putin felt rarely privileged. He explained that he had never been to the home of another world leader. The atmosphere was cosy. While a thunderstorm raged outside, a log fire burned inside. Van Cliburn – a hero in the Soviet Union, where he won the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition back in 1958 – played for the guests. Condoleezza Rice danced and Putin’s foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, chatted in Spanish with President Bush. He recalls: ‘I speak Spanish because I used to work in Spain, and when Bush found this out he always used to chat to me in Spanish. He called me “Iggy”. “Hey, Iggy,” he would say, “Como estas?” ’ 25
    But nothing could remove the log-jam over the ABM treaty – and Putin certainly did not intend to provide a fig-leaf by agreeing to abandon it jointly with the Americans. The most that could be agreed was that Bush would not embarrass Putin by announcing the withdrawal while he was still in the States.
    In December Secretary of State Powell flew to Moscow to bury the treaty. In three days’ time, he told Putin, President Bush would publicly announce America’s unilateral withdrawal from the ABM. He described the curious reaction he got from Putin. ‘Putin looked at me with those steely eyes of his and started to complain: “This is terrible, you are kicking out the legs from under the strategic stability, and we will criticise you for this.” I said, “I fully understand that, Mr President.” And then he broke into a smile, and he leaned forward to me and he said: “Good! Now we won’t have to talk about this any more. Now you and Igor [Ivanov] get busy on a new