The BBC reports:

News that India's naval chief, Adm Suresh Mehta, has reluctantly agreed to pay the full price for the refitted Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorschkov, is a manifestation of the growing number of differences between the two former cold war allies.

It seems that they are moving further and further apart over a number of issues.

Their leaders still visit each other's countries and rarely miss any opportunity to emphasise their decades-old ties. But nagging doubts remain over their ability to redefine their relationship in a fast-changing world. The Admiral Gorschkov is a good example. From a negotiated price of $700m, the Russians subsequently demanded $1.2bn with delivery delayed till 2013. Around the same time, the Indian navy has refused to accept an upgraded diesel-powered submarine after delays in the installation of a missile system.

Souring relations

These irritants and other disagreements over trade and India's foreign policy have all served to put a strain on once close relations. Adm Mehta has called for a government review of military ties with Russia, amid growing resentment within the military about the Russian attitude to their needs. Having depended entirely on the erstwhile Soviet Union to meet those requirements in the past, India today finds Russia a lot more aggressive and even a little indifferent. Around 70% of India's military hardware comes from Russia. When India's foreign and defence ministers visited Moscow last year, President Putin allegedly refused to meet them. In fact, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, next only to the prime minister in seniority, was not even given an appointment by the Russian prime minister. And when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh travelled to Russia at the end of last year, he curtailed his visit to just 28 hours.

'Not enthusiastic'

Officially the politicians deny any souring of relations. "Despite major transformations, our relations remain firmly rooted in a mutual bond of friendship, understanding and trust," Mr Singh said recently. Indian Defence Minister AK Antony for his part reiterated that India will not develop ties with any country at the cost of its friendship with Russia. But experts say their words belie the truth. The Delhi-based Russia expert Nivedita Das Kundu, says that both countries "have taken each other for granted". She says that Russia is not enthusiastic about Delhi's growing relationship with the US. But at the same time she points out that India needs to understand that for the next 15-20 years her dependence on Russian military hardware and spares will continue, despite frustrations in the military over delays and escalating costs. Again the aircraft carrier saga clearly illustrates this. India's ageing Vikrant carrier needs to be replaced and Delhi has committed itself to a Russian replacement.

'Nostalgia'

It is only recently that India has begun to diversify and look at the US and Israel for military imports. But Ms Kundu says "nostalgia" will not help improve relations. India's foreign office has to get issues such as visa problems for Indian businessmen to Russia sorted out, she says, because at the moment, they have to wait as long as Pakistanis and Afghans. The break-up of the Soviet Union has also affected trade between the two countries. Russia's share in India's total trade has fallen from 9% in 1991 to just over 1% in 2007. From the third largest export destination in 1991, Russia has slipped to 34th place for Indian exports. And the recent restrictions on Indian tea, coffee and agricultural exports to Russia - some of which have now been lifted - only served further to sour the relationship.

Experts argue that India needs to work harder to erase the widely held perception in Russia that Indian goods are of poor quality. Earlier India was treated differently from other countries by Russia. Now it is dealt with in same way as any other country and that is what irks many in the Indian bureaucracy. Now Indian defence contractors have to negotiate with the different departments in Russia which deal with exports and imports while at the same time haggle over the prices of military hardware. "But probably the main factor that has become an obstacle to better relations is Delhi's growing closeness with the United States," says security expert Uday Bhaskar.

The Associated Press reports that Britain has taken a hard line on the Russia's outrageous failure to support the administration of justice in the Litvinenko matter. Do you dare to imagine, dear reader, how crazed Russians would react if a British critic of Britain were murdered with radioactive poison on Russian soil, with the poison being spread all over creation and endangering thousands of Russians, and if the Kremlin then proclaimed it knew the killer and wanted him turned over and Britain refused to do so? Lugovi is now under house arrest inside Russia, unable to travel, and Russia is ever more the international pariah. As usual, it is Britain that assumes the leadership role in warning the world about the dangers of dictatorship in Europe. Jolly good show old boys!

Britain will expel four Russian diplomats over the Kremlin's refusal to extradite the key suspect in the murder of a former KGB agent fatally poisoned in London, the foreign secretary said Monday. David Miliband told Parliament he had taken the steps because the Kremlin had failed to properly respond to the "horrifying and lingering" death of Alexander Litvinenko. It was the first time since 1996 that Britain had used the sanction, which Russia vowed "will not go unanswered."

"The Russian government has failed to register either how seriously we treat this case or the seriousness of the issues involved, despite lobbying at the highest level and clear explanations of our need for a satisfactory response," Miliband told lawmakers at the House of Commons. Moscow has refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, a Russian businessman and former KGB agent, to stand trial in London over the killing. Lugovoi has been named by British prosecutors as the chief suspect in the case. Russia's formal rejection was received a week ago by Britain's Crown Prosecution Service, which in turn spurned a Russian offer to try Lugovoi in Russia. "The heinous crime of murder does require justice," Miliband said. "This response is proportional and it is clear at whom it is aimed."

In Moscow, Mikhail Kamynin, a spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, said "the provocative actions conceived by the British authorities will not go unanswered and cannot fail to produce the most serious consequences for Russian-British relations as a whole." Kamynin said the expulsions were "a well-staged action to politicize the Litvinenko case" and claimed the British government was trying to justify its own refusal to extradite two prominent Kremlin opponents with asylum in Britain: tycoon Boris Berezovsky and Chechen separatist figure Akhmed Zakayev. Britain's Foreign Office declined to specify the rank or position of the four Russian diplomats to be expelled, who had yet to leave the country. "We have chosen to expel four particular diplomats in order to send a clear and proportionate signal about the seriousness of this case," Miliband said.

Litvinenko died Nov. 23 in a London hospital after ingesting radioactive polonium-210. In a deathbed statement, he accused Russian President Vladmir Putin of being behind his killing. The ex-security agent said he first felt ill after meeting Lugovoi and business partner Dmitry Kovtun at London's Millennium Hotel. A waiter who was working at the hotel said he believed a poison had been sprayed into a pot of green tea, according to a British newspaper report Sunday. Norberto Andrade told the Sunday Telegraph that when he later cleared the table, the tea looked more yellow than usual and became "thicker — it looked gooey." Miliband said Lugovoi had offered the tea to Litvinenko and that he later "suffered a horrifying and lingering death in front of his family. His murder put hundreds of others, residents and visitors, at risk of radiation contamination." Traces of polonium-210 were found at around a dozen other sites in London, including three hotels, a stadium, two planes and an office building. In Britain, 700 people were tested for polonium contamination and 670 were tested abroad — including Lugovoi. All were eventually released.

International agreements mean that Lugovoi could be extradited if he travels outside Russia, Miliband said. Miliband said London has suspended visa facilitation negotiations with Russia and is reviewing cooperation on a range of issues. Britain and Moscow had been working on a process to speed up the issuing of visas, but will halt cooperation, the Foreign Office said. Russian's ambassador to London met with Sir Peter Ricketts, a senior aide to Miliband, shortly before lawmakers were told of the expulsions. In March 1996, Moscow ordered out nine British diplomats, alleging that they were part of a spy ring. Britain expelled four Russians in response

A reader brings our attention to the following announcement from the U.S. State Department:

Michelle Kwan [pictured], the first U.S. Department of State American Public Diplomacy Envoy, will depart June 13 for Russia to visit Moscow, Volgograd, and Elista. This is the figure skating champion's second trip as an American Public Diplomacy Envoy under the auspices of the Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs following her highly successful trip to China in January 2007. As an American Public Diplomacy Envoy, Ms. Kwan promotes cross-cultural dialogue with international youth and increases understanding of America by sharing her story and life experiences. Kwan's activities in Russia will help commemorate the 200th anniversary of U.S.-Russia diplomatic relations being celebrated this year, and underscores the importance of sports diplomacy. During her visit to Russia, she will meet with students learning English in an ECA-sponsored English language enhancement program for Russian youth in Kalmykia, connect with aspiring student entrepreneurs working on Junior Achievement projects, and share her experiences with women leaders as well as Russian athletes.

Take that, Russians! Vladimir Putin accuses us of being the new Nazi Germany, announces he's going to violate the CFE treaty, point missiles at Europe, sells submarines to the crazed anti-American maniac Hugo Chavez and now he's in for it! George Bush has invited him to the family compound in Maine for a lobster dinner where he'll have to listen to Bush Sr. drone on about how to catch the big ones (and worry all night about being vomited on) and sends in the A-team to spell out our diplomatic position in no uncertain terms with intimidating use of words like "double sow kow" and "triple axle." Them Rooskies must already be shaking in their shoes! La Russophobe doesn't dare to wonder how far we might be prepared to go in the event Russia actually fires missiles at Europe . . . did somebody say Tanya Harding? Thank goodness our president understands Russia so well!

The International Herald Tribune reports:

As he prepares for a crucial meeting with top European Union officials that starts Thursday, President Vladimir Putin is finding out that his confrontational policies toward several European countries have unexpectedly united the 27-member bloc, diplomats said. EU foreign ministers agreed at pre-summit talks Monday in Brussels to postpone negotiations for a new trade accord with Russia after opposition from Poland and Lithuania. "Unless there is a major shift during the summit, Putin has miscalculated," said a top EU diplomat involved in the meeting in Samara, Russia, that will include Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president. "Putin assumed he could divide Europe by playing off Poland, Lithuania and Estonia against Germany or France so that he could get talks for the trade accord started," the diplomat, who requested anonymity, said. "The EU is sticking together because of his heavy-handedness. It is the exact opposite of what he had intended."

Merkel, who intends to confront Putin on human rights and press freedom issues, was not prepared to isolate the new member states to launch the trade talks. She and other EU leaders are also frustrated with Putin's refusal to endorse independence for Kosovo and his sharp criticism of U.S. plans to deploy elements of its antimissile shield in Eastern Europe. But the core of the dispute between Russia and the EU is Russia's reluctance to accept an enlarged EU that includes those East European countries once in Moscow's sphere. "Russia never accepted this enlargement," said Pawel Swieboda, director of demosEuropa, an independent research center in Warsaw. "He sees how the new members have begun to change the EU's external policy."

Before the 10 formerly Communist countries of Eastern Europe joined the EU in May 2004, foreign policy was set by the older, powerful member states. While the bloc sought to devise a strategy for partnership with Russia, Berlin, Paris and Rome pursued their own national interests, particularly in signing energy contracts with Gazprom, Russia's giant state-owned gas giant. When the new members joined, their interests were hardly taken into account. "The integration of the new member states into the EU's foreign policy was not taken seriously," said Ivan Krastev, director of the Center for Liberal Studies in Sofia. "Some of the old member states believed it would be business as usual with Russia. France and Germany did not want EU foreign policy to be held hostage by any new member state." The so-called Orange Revolution in Ukraine in December 2005 changed that. During the standoff between the pro-western leader, Viktor Yushchenko, and Viktor Yanukovich, whom Putin supported, the Polish and Lithuanian presidents mediated.

"Putin resented this interference by the EU because Ukraine was regarded as Russia's sphere of influence," said Pavol Demes, director of the Slovak office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. "The implications of an enlarged EU were becoming evident." Since 2005, Polish and Lithuanian diplomats say Russia has sought revenge by imposing a ban on Polish meat imports worth €350 million, or $473 million, a year, and by temporarily halting oil deliveries to Lithuania. Until these issues are resolved, Poland and Lithuania will continue to block the start of the new trade accord with Russia. The European Commission has stood by both countries. "We have made it clear to Russia that these are EU, not bilateral, issues," said the EU diplomat. Putin's use of energy as a political tool also spurred several of the new member states, heavily dependent on Russia for their energy needs, to challenge the EU to establish a common energy policy.

The EU started to take their concerns seriously in January 2006 when Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine, a major transit country for Russian gas to Europe, and a year later when Russia stopped oil deliveries to Belarus. "The energy issue is crucial for establishing what kind of relationship we want with Russia," said Marcel de Haas, a security expert at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations. "Many of the big countries continue to forge new energy contracts with Russia. But this issue will not go away because of our dependence on Russian energy." Despite this dependence and the way individual member countries make their own deals with Russia, the EU will this week delay starting the new trade talks until Russia's disputes between Poland and Lithuania are resolved. Petras Vaitiekunas, Lithuania's foreign minister, welcomed this solidarity. "If the strategic partnership with Russia is important for the European Union, it is twice as important for the member states who are Russia's neighbors," he said. "We are the first to win or to suffer when EU-Russia relations change."