In December 2011, Vladimir Putin, then Russia's prime minister, was positioned to reclaim his role as Russia's president in the March 2012 elections.

Fittingly, he hosted a lavish banquet at New Century, Moscow's richest equestrian club, for members of the Valdai Club and distinguished academics and journalists from around the world.

"The fare was extravagant: smoked trout, duck liver, venison soup, rhubarb sorbet, veal cheeks, and pear soup with caramel," according to Douglas Schoen and Melik Kaylan, authors of "The Russia-China Axis."

Putin addressed topics ranging from the "Russian government's loss of public trust to his own indispensable leadership."

He later directed his focus on the US and addressed the Americans in attendance.

"You ask me whether we are going to change," he said. "The ball is in your court. Will you change?"

He expressed his disapproval of US plans to build a missile-defense system that he believed would pose a deliberate threat to Russia's national security.

Putin then added that the only reason the US had any interest in relations with Moscow was that Russia was the only country that could "destroy America in half an hour or less."

Schoen and Kaylan conclude: "It would be difficult to find a statement more revealing about Putin's true position regarding the United States."