LONDON, Oct 5: Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former spy for the KGB secret service, on Wednesday became the first foreign leader to enter an underground crisis centre in the heart of Britain’s capital.

In a symbolic move underlining how far alliances have shifted since the Cold War, British Prime Minister Tony Blair took Putin to the room, known as COBRA, to discuss strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

“The realization that global threats such as the threat of terrorism can be defeated exclusively by uniting our forces with our partners in Europe and North America is leading to a widening of cooperation and trust,” said Putin.

“That is the most important key that allowed us to open that door,” he told reporters after a two-day visit to London.

COBRA, or Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, is the centre where government officials met after the July bombings by four British militants, who killed themselves and 52 other people on the capital’s transport network.

Russia says it, too, is the target of extremists.

Hundreds of people have been killed in attacks by Chechen separatists including more than 320 children and adults held hostage in a school in the town of Beslan last year.

“We had a fascinating discussion just now about the dangers and risks posed to us and we agreed to work closely together on counter-terrorism for the future,” said Blair after the talks.

At the height of the Cold War, Putin was a KGB spy in East Germany. A decade after the Berlin Wall came down he briefly ran Russia’s secret police before becoming prime minister and then president.—Reuters