In the world of diplomacy, the balance of power is frequently expressed in linguistic nuances. The weak and the undecided have a propensity to retreat into the meaningless hackneyed phrases of international conference jargon. The strong and the confident have no aversion to straight talk, even in front of TV cameras.

Rarely has this phenomenon been as obvious as it was a little over two weeks ago following the German- French- Russian summit meeting in Compiègne outside Paris. At a joint press conference to conclude the meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac practically outdid each other with their well-oiled diplomatic lingo. Merkel characterized the summit as "extraordinarily important," while the French president gushed over what he called the meeting's "constructive atmosphere" -- clearly the kind of language people use when they don't want to, or are unable to say anything meaningful.

The contrast between these leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin couldn't have been more pronounced. The language Putin used to characterize the meeting was about as unadorned as if he had been commenting on the outcome of a shareholders' meeting. In speaking to reporters, he said that the three leaders had discussed projects "in the area of industry and energy," including investments and joint ventures in the space and aviation industries, infrastructure and machine building, all at price tags running into the billions of dollars. The discussions, said Putin, were "very businesslike" and "very specific." In defining his administration's objectives, he coolly said that Russia was primarily "interested in implementation."

The Kremlin is clearly adopting a new tone in its dealings with its European neighbors, a tone that reflects a new self-confidence and to which Western states are unaccustomed. In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union 15 years ago, the Germans have treated Russia at best as a promising market, a challenging but worthwhile investment opportunity and an obedient supplier of raw materials.

At worst, the West has seen the giant nation as an anarchic playing field for brutal mafia bosses, greedy former intelligence officials and corrupt bureaucrats. When Russian presidents traveled to Germany in the past, they found themselves begging for debt forgiveness and pacifying critics of their draconian treatment of multibillionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

To read the rest of this article, visit Spiegel Online.




Contributed by Ralf Beste, Frank Dohmen, Michael Sauga and Matthias Schepp. Reprinted with permission from Spiegel Online.

To read another Global Envision article about Russian involvement in the global economy, see Russia - Odd Man Out in the G-8.



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