President, Putin upbeat but still at odds on missiles

KENNEBUNKPORT -- President Bush and President Vladimir Putin of Russia said yesterday that they had made some progress in bridging their differences over US missile defense plans in Europe, after an informal seaside meeting at the Bush family compound that was designed to repair fraying relations.

The two leaders seemed eager to show how successful their informal two-day meeting had been, appearing in casual shirts at a press conference overlooking the ocean, and described their talks as productive. Aides said the two governments would formally announce a series of agreements in the coming days.

Bush and Putin also said they agreed in principle to involve NATO in any plans for a missile defense system in Europe, which is the most contentious issue between them. But Putin continued to oppose Bush's plan to anchor the missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, two former Soviet satellite states that Putin still considers his geopolitical backyard.

In an effort to persuade Bush to change his plans, Putin expanded on Russia's proposal to allow the United States the joint use of a Russian radar station in the nation of Azerbaijan. Russia's president sweetened his offer by promising to upgrade the Azerbaijan radar and give the United States joint use of an early-warning radar system inside Russia.

Bush called Putin's idea "innovative" and "very sincere," but spoke of it as an addition to the US plan, not a substitute.

"He just laid out a vision," said Bush. "But as I told Vladimir, I think that Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of the system."

Despite the two presidents' many displays of friendship, including an early-morning fishing trip in which Putin netted the only catch, specialists warned that the United States and Russia are still grappling with some of the widest differences they have faced since the end of the Cold War.

They said that, despite the change in tone emanating from the two-day meeting, Washington and Moscow remain far apart on a number of key issues.

"Putin defines Russian strategic interests in very anti American terms," said Michael McFaul, a specialist on Russia at the Hoover Institution, a think tank at Stanford University. "That's his world view. Putin is looking for gains for Russia and losses for the United States. Bush is still trying to figure out where we can cooperate and find win-win situations."

The missile shield is the source of the greatest anguish between the two nations. Russia, seeking to preserve its sphere of influence, is wary of American efforts to collaborate with Eastern European nations that were once part of the Soviet bloc.

Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security advisor, said Putin's offer of Russian radar facilities showed that Moscow is serious about cooperating with the United States in building a joint missile defense system. And Putin spoke with great flourish of a possible US-Russia cooperation on missile defense that could elevate the friendship to a much higher level.

But specialists said it was unlikely that the United States and its European allies -- including some former Soviet republics -- would scrap their own plans in favor of a Russian radar system.

"We are not going to rely on a radar system in Russia for the security of Europe and the United States," said McFaul. "I think the devil is in the details as to how far a truly joint missile defense system can go."

Zeyno Baran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank, said Putin's new proposal offers the appearance of cooperation without much substance behind it.

"This is sort of a strategy that Putin uses," she said. "He says, 'Hey, I want to cooperate. Here's my idea.' But then he suggests something that is just not doable."

The spat over missile defense is just the latest in a string of nasty disagreements between Washington and Moscow in recent years, with rhetoric from Moscow becoming so heated that some analysts had begun to term the new phase of relations a "Cold Peace."

But Putin and Bush have always boasted of a personal chemistry since Bush first met Putin in 2001 and famously told reporters he had glimpsed Putin's soul.

At first, the friendship paid off. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Russia did not protest the United States' use of military bases in Central Asia to launch the US-led war in Afghanistan. Since that time, relations have deteriorated. In 2003, Putin opposed the Iraq war, and Bush -- who has called democracy a cornerstone of his foreign policy -- watched as Russia's president cracked down on journalists and political opponents.

In 2005, Putin was deeply angered by the US support for a new, Western-leaning political movement in Ukraine that overthrew a government allied with Russia.

State Department officials have said Putin, a former KGB agent, is trying to recreate the feeling of a strong, proud Soviet empire. They say Putin feels threatened by Washington's friendship with post-Soviet republics and that any US loss is Russia's gain.

"Zero-sum thinking is evident," Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state for European affairs, recently told a congressional hearing.

Some administration officials have long contended that Bush misread Putin's soul, and that Putin is far more autocratic and hostile than Bush understood him to be.

In recent months, their fears seemed justified, as Putin ratcheted up anti-American rhetoric, at one point comparing US foreign policy to that of Nazi Germany.

But Andrew C. Kuchins , a specialist on Russia who spoke with Bush last year, said the president appeared far more concerned about the long-term trends in Russia: whether a democratic-leaning middle-class would grow, and whether the country would continue to nurture a disturbing anti-American sentiment.

Yesterday, the two leaders portrayed the Kennebunkport meeting as a chance to reconnect. Aides said Russia and the United States would soon announce an agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation, and a document on the future of US-Russian nonproliferation efforts. They said the two presidents talked expansively about policy goals, their families, their dogs, and the upcoming elections that will determine their successors.

Bush seemed to go out of his way to praise Putin, while acknowledging that they do not see eye-to-eye on everything.

"When you're dealing with a world leader, you wonder whether or not he's telling you the truth or not," Bush said. "I've never had to worry about that with Vladimir Putin. Sometimes he says things I don't want to hear, but I know he's always telling me the truth."

Putin played along, telling reporters, "We share the same passion," referring to fishing. But he appeared far less playful than presidential. When he spoke of his proposed US-Russian cooperation on missile defense, he showed the face of a tough contender on the world political scene.

"The deck's been dealt, and we are here to play," Putin said. "And I would very much hope that we are playing one and the same game."