US and Russian officials have done well to defuse the recent row over Washington's plans to place missile defence sites in eastern Europe and Russian president Vladimir Putin's -outspoken attack on US "unilateralism".

The world does not need a new cold war, or even cold war-style rhetoric, when there are so many global issues that would benefit from better co-operation between Washington and Moscow. As was demonstrated in the collaboration between the US, Russia and China in the deal over North Korea's nuclear programme, the world's powers have much to gain by working together on security. With the wider Middle East in crisis, much more remains to be done that can only be done by co-operation.