Putting out flags

The carriages have been scrubbed, and Buckingham Palace's best silver laid out, for President Vladimir Putin's three-day state visit.

On paper, Mr Putin has been allocated just 30 minutes for talks with the Prime Minister, which may leave many wondering what is the point of this lavishly expensive occasion.

The brief diary space is deceptive. A long list of issues will be surveyed during the visit, as befits a relationship which, while far from central for either country, is highly symbolic for each.

British trade with Russia is getting back to the levels reached before the collapse of the rouble in 1999. For the first time in post-Soviet history there will be more capital entering the Russian economy this quarter than fleeing it.

About 400 British companies are operating in Russia, and our investments there, particularly in oil and gas, are growing. Russian cooperation on terrorism and crime are essential and Mr Blair will also be anxious to hear in person how Russia intends to respond to pressure on Iran to shed its proscribed nuclear programme.

Russian foreign policy is of uncertain direction these days and Mr Putin, while he is esteemed by Washington and London, needs to decide more consistently where he stands in major international disputes - in particular on the issue of nuclear proliferation, to which he is formally opposed and has informally turned a blind eye in Iran.

Two years ago, when this state visit was planned, Mr Putin's relations with the Prime Minister were easier. But Mr Blair is still a useful ear in the West for Mr Putin who will doubtless ask the Prime Minister to put pressure on the White House to honour Russia's oil contracts in Iraq.

Mr Blair, for his part, must not shy away from challenging Mr Putin's abysmal human rights record in the breakaway republic of Chechnya. For any Russian president, a trip of this status is a symbolic affirmation of Russia's role in Europe.

Mr Blair must demonstrate that while he is a generous host, he is also a critical friend.