Tensions may be rising between Britain and Russia, but the Bush Administration appears determined to avoid conflict with the Kremlin.

Despite extraordinarily antagonistic comments by President Putin of Russia, Washington has refused to get too involved in the diplomatic stand-off over the death of Alexander Litvinenko.

Even in May, when Mr Putin compared the policies of President Bush to those of Nazi Germany, the White House refused to rise. Rather than alienate Russia, the Administration seems intent on a thaw in relations.

Just days after Mr Putin compared American foreign policy to that of the Third Reich, Mr Bush hosted the Russian leader at the “lobster summit” at the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Even then, Mr Putin rebuffed the hospitality by pulling out of a key Nato arms control treaty last weekend, in protest at Mr Bush’s plan for a missile defence shield in Central Europe. Mr Bush has said nothing.

Despite Mr Putin’s aggressive posturing, Washington does not view it as the prelude to a new Cold War — nor does it want to start one. Russia’s energy supplies are vital to US interests and the White House is keen to maintain reasonable relations.

In the run-up to the Iraq war, when France, Germany and Russia opposed the planned invasion at the UN, the instructions from the White House that shaped the post-invasion US foreign policy were: “Punish France, forgive Russia and ignore Germany.”

Bret Stephens, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, wrote yesterday: “Talk to actual Russians and you’ll find that one of their chief gripes with this Administration has been its over-the-top overtures to Mr Putin. This isn’t a study in appeasement — quite. But it stands in stark contrast to the British Government’s decision to expel four Russian diplomats.”

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