President Vladimir Putin has made great progress in Russia's economy since he came to power – more than even the most optimistic had predicted. But, as Putin himself said – quoting another Russian leader who often called for growth rates beyond the country's wherewithal – there is no reason to be "giddy with success."

In foreign policy, Putin has now broken with the wariness once held by the Foreign Ministry's bureaucratic machine under former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, who could never rise above his suspicion of the West. Putin has given a clear direction to Russia's foreign policy – which, for the first time in living memory, is refreshingly positive.

Russia was generally dismissed as a non-player in the world political arena, at least in the West – but, instead of sulking and stonewalling on every issue, Putin has transformed Russia into an active player, minus superpower delusions.

World leaders suddenly cannot get enough of Putin, and everyone seems to want to bask in his sunshine. Over the last month, the world has seen a flurry of high-profile summits between Russia and foreign partners. Some have even begun worrying that the president relishes his new international celebrity status a trifle too much, at the expense of domestic affairs.

His willingness to engage in dialogue on difficult and controversial issues like relations with Iran and Iraq, and to make the bold decision to side with the United States, are just a few examples in a long series of changes he has brought about in Russian foreign policy.

What Putin must understand, however, is that most European leaders are going through a phase of stagnation in their economies and unpopularity among their electorates. The world needs Russian opportunities – to sell goods to Russia and gain access to cheap Russian resources. It is up to Putin to bargain as an equal and get the best deal possible.

To reap benefits for Russia at home and abroad, this new foreign policy must open doors to investment as Western distrust of Russian leadership wanes and the country marches toward political and economic integration with the West.

This requires the West to do its part as well. It needs to recognize that while Russia still has problems – and what country doesn't? – it has changed. A few years ago, if an analyst had said Russia would soon be in the position it now occupies, the majority of experts would have either laughed or been dumbfounded. Now, the country is politically stable, the economy is growing, corruption has abated somewhat and most people agree that real changes in the way Russian companies do business are slowly taking place. Today's Russia is not the Russia of even two years ago, never mind the Russia of the anarchic years of the 1990s.

For Russia to continue on its present course – which is in the interests of almost everyone – it needs real encouragement and, more importantly, tangible benefits. Russia is not going to maintain a fruitless foreign policy out of the goodness of its politicians' hearts. Putin's pro-Western stance carries great political risk at home, and the West must recognize that.

This does not mean that Putin has come, like former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev or former President Boris Yeltsin, like a supplicant begging the West for alms. To the contrary, he has said that he wants no handouts or large foreign loans, and has no desire for special treatment. He is, in short, the first Russian leader to show a real intent to be treated as an equal, not as a threat or a beggar.

At last, Russia has become a country the West can deal with. We hope the West realizes that.