Russia marked its chairmanship of the G8 powers this weekend with a distinct swagger.
Russia has taken a lashing this year over its crackdown on Chechnya, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and hard-nosed -- some say hostile -- energy policies toward neighboring, pro-Western countries such as Ukraine and Georgia.
But that criticism was water off a duck's back on Friday and Saturday as Moscow hosted the G8's finance ministers for talks on improving the global energy supply system.
"Nobody doubts Russia being a full member of the G8," Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said to questions over Russia's place in the elite club alongside Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.
As the world's second-biggest oil exporter and owner of a third of world gas reserves, Russia cannot easily be pushed around.
"Western governments are pragmatic and to them energy is more important than democracy," said Vladimir Pribylovsky of the Panorama think tank in Moscow.
And with oil at about US$70 a barrel, President Vladimir Putin intends to play this energy card for all he can -- and not in a way that the West will like, Pribylovsky said.
"The Kremlin is in euphoria over the forecasts for high energy prices in the coming years. They feel that methods of energy blackmail used against Ukraine and Georgia can be extended to make Russia a superpower again," he said.
Last month's decision by Russian gas giant Gazprom to cut off supplies to Ukraine temporarily over a pricing dispute, as well as the mysterious sabotage of the main gas pipeline to Georgia prompted accusations of bullying.
Other Western concerns include what human-rights organizations say are torture and secret executions in rebel Chechnya, Moscow's support for authoritarian regimes such as Belarus and Uzbekistan, and a new law seen as curbing the freedom of NGOs.
But at the G8 finance meeting, Russia's promise to become a secure energy supplier earned rave reviews.
French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said that a "new phase of dialogue has clearly begun today" and echoed a call by German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck to cement Russia's role in the G8.
"Such an important partner must be with us at the table and not excluded," Steinbrueck said.
Certainly, Putin has never sounded more confident.
"No one is against, all are in favor of Russia's presence in the G8," he said recently, declaring that his sternest Western critics deserved to be spat upon.
Such self-confidence is increasingly visible on the diplomatic stage, with bold initiatives possibly making Moscow key to mediating two of the world's thorniest problems -- the standoff over Iran and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
An Iranian delegation is expected in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the possibility of enriching uranium for Iran's civilian nuclear program on Russian soil.
That plan, designed to allay fears that Iran could divert uranium supplies into a secret bomb project, is seen as a last hope for averting a serious international crisis.
Putin also caught the West by surprise last Thursday by announcing an invitation to the Palestinian radical group Hamas for talks in Moscow. The initiative caused outrage in Israel and bewilderment in the US. However, support soon came from France and on Friday even the US said that it respected Putin's "sovereign decision" after Moscow gave assurances it would press the militants to renounce armed struggle against Israel.
Kudrin noted that Russia's role as energy kingpin is unlikely to fade any time soon.
"Globally we are witnessing a growing market for oil and gas and it will grow for the coming dozens of years," he said. "We are confident that for the next 30 to 50 years the key gas fields will be in demand."
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