By Paul Reynolds World Affairs Correspondent, BBC News website

Energy issues have strained ties between the two administrations

It is a long way from the innocent days of June 2001 when President Bush said of President Putin after their first meeting: "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy... I was able to get a sense of his soul."

There followed a longish period of mutual restraint, in which Mr Bush did not criticise Russia too much (over Chechnya for example) and Russia, while opposing the US invasion of Iraq, did not make too much noise about it.

The two had the "war on terror" in common and that brought them together.

Now, they are engaged in an exchange of rhetoric that almost matches the bad old days of the Cold War.

'Tools of intimidation'

The US Vice-President Dick Cheney, in a speech in Vilnius on Russia's doorstep on 4 May, targeted Russia's domestic and foreign policy: "The government has unfairly and improperly restricted the rights of her people. Other actions by the Russian government have been counterproductive, and could begin to affect relations with other countries.

A gas pipeline deal between Russia and Germany has worried Poland

"No legitimate interest is served when oil and gas become tools of intimidation or blackmail, either by supply manipulation or attempts to monopolize transportation. And no-one can justify actions that undermine the territorial integrity of a neighbour, or interfere with democratic movements."

The US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld weighed in through the unexpected medium of an article in the French paper Le Figaro in which he said that Russia, while a partner on security, had "used its energy resources as political weapon".

And potential Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain called for a boycott of the G8 summit, which Mr Putin will host on 15-17 July at the Konstantinovksy Palace he has had renovated outside St Petersburg.

Comrade Wolf knows whom to eat, he eats without listening and he's clearly not going to listen to anyone Russian President Vladimir Putin

President Putin has now hit back at the US. In his annual state of the nation speech on 11 May he said: "Where is all this pathos about protecting human rights and democracy when it comes to the need to pursue their own interests? Here, it seems, everything is allowed and there are no restrictions whatsoever.

"We are aware of what is going on in the world. Comrade Wolf knows whom to eat, he eats without listening and he's clearly not going to listen to anyone."

And he spoke of building up Russian military power: "It is premature to speak of the end of the arms race... We must always be ready to counter any attempts to pressure Russia. The stronger our military is, the less temptation there will be to exert such pressure on us."

Mutual suspicion

It does not bode well for the G8 summit meeting. It is unlikely that Mr Putin will wander the halls of what is sometimes known as "Putin's Palace" alone. But there will be no more talks of souls.

The US is seeking Russian help on the Iranian nuclear issue

Nor is it good for the Western effort to get Russia (and China) on board for a tougher line against Iran and its nuclear activities. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made Russian views very plain in talks with fellow foreign minister in New York on Monday at what was apparently a rather heated dinner encounter.

There is suspicion on both sides. The United States is disappointed that Russia has not advanced further down the democratic path and regards it as a threat to some of its neighbours.

The Russians resent what they see as hypocrisy by the United States, which has among other things waged war in Iraq without Security Council backing.

The immediate issue has been over energy supplies, especially gas. This is rather unfortunate given that Mr Putin put the security of energy at the top of his G8 agenda.

'Double standards'

"Moscow has discovered soft power in its dominance of the gas market," said Margot Light, Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics.

"It has got a very bad press but there is great irritation in Russia about what they regard as double standards in the West. It is indeed hypocritical of the West to object to Russia raising prices to Ukraine, while demanding that world trade talks depend on Russia raising its domestic prices.

"From the beginning of his presidency, Putin's aim has been to restore Russian power. He has found one way to do it."

It is true that the strategic relationship has not settled down as well as was hoped. There remains prickliness on each side and questions about each other's intentions.

It may be, however, that the bad feeling is being got out of the way before G8 and that the summit can proceed with a bit of fence-mending.

Not that people have expectations of this meeting.

"It's going to be a damp squib," predicted Professor Light.