Black-belt Putin floors G8 opponents

HEILIGENDAMM: With the abruptness and skill of a real-life judo black belt, Russia's President Vladimir Putin floored foes at the Group of Eight summit and single-handedly defused mounting East-West tensions.   

Putin, attending his last Group of Eight summit before leaving office next year, arrived in Heiligendamm, Germany, the odd man out.   

In a pre-summit interview the Kremlin leader issued a chilling threat to resume Cold War nuclear missile targeting if Washington insisted on building an anti-missile system in central Europe.   

But Putin turned peacemaker and stole the G8 show with a stunning proposal Thursday to President George W. Bush on hosting the system at a Russian base.   

"Putin's statement after meeting Bush was a sensation," the Russian business daily Vedomosti said on Friday.   

Rather than shake his fist at G8 critics, Putin "on the contrary proposed to Bush a solution that could really interest Washington and ease the red-hot atmosphere," the Vremya Novostei daily wrote.   

The drama wrong-footed Bush and other Western leaders who had signalled a tough stance against what many in the West see as Putin's unacceptable clampdown on democracy and increasingly aggressive foreign policy.   

Analysts say that behind Putin's surprise announcement lie carefully thought-out tactics -- echoing techniques in the president's much loved sport of judo -- but not always much substance.   

"He's always playing a game. The game is about raising tension so that then he can take an unexpected step to reverse this," Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, said.   

"This game of nerves strengthens his hand in negotiations."   

Yevgeny Volk at the US-based Heritage Foundation said that "Putin managed to steer the summit away from questions like human rights."   

"He invented a huge scandal over the American plan for missile defences, then ntervened dramatically, so that he could appear to solve the problem. Everyone's clapping and cheering. I think it's rather crude," Volk said.   

Behind the smiles in Germany real disagreements linger, particularly over democratic rights in Russia ahead of the 2008 presidential election when Putin is to stand aside.   

Critics say the process will be heavily stage-managed to ensure a member of Putin's inner circle takes over, while true opponents are refused a chance to compete.   

There is also concern in the European Union and the United States over the steady strengthening of the state's hand in the booming energy-based Russian economy.   

Just before the G8, Bush accused Putin of "derailing" democracy, while British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned that Russia risked seeing an exit of investors if it refused to accept "shared values."   

Lukyanov said such worries will survive Putin's star performance at the G8 summit.   

"Did he manage to neutralise his critics? Overall, no, of course, because nothing has changed. The lack of trust in Russia regarding democracy and its policies remains," Lukyanov said.   

According to Moscow-based analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, Putin's surprise announcement on the missile defences was "more like a Cold War period proposal, when everyone exchanged initiatives that never led to anything."