Reply #3: No expert but their geopolitical ambitions are antagonistic

[Capt_Nemo]

The US wants a continuing containment and downsizing of Russia's
influence. Russia obviously wants to expand it.
Moreover the US interests in the Caspian put them much closer to
the Chechen independentists than from the russians.
And now Russia has a pretext to mass troops on its Southern Caucasus
border from where they can destabilze Georgia that has been falling
further and further under US influence. Russia has accused Georgia
of giving Chechen rebels a Haven in the Pankisi Gorge and has been
supporting the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russia could well invade those regions with full support of the local
populations, using its "war on terrorism" as a pretext and getting
into a head on collision with the US (now is the right moment with
the US Army pinned down in Iraq).