US-Russia summit eases tension

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and U.S. President George W. Bush walk together on the grounds of the Bocharov Ruchey presidential summer residence at the Black Sea in Sochi on Sunday. –

SOCHI, Russia - US President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin claimed progress Sunday toward resolving their dispute over a planned US missile defence system in Europe
At their swansong summit by the Black Sea, US President George W. Bush announced a “breakthrough” after Putin softened opposition to the planned system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
While Washington says it would guard against Iran, Moscow argues it would weaken Russia’s nuclear defence potential.
Putin reiterated his opposition to the system, but said he was ”cautiously optimistic” about eventually reaching a deal.
“There is some positive movement” on the US-Russian missile defence argument, Putin said, following his meeting with Bush. “The American side is finally listening to our concerns.”
This was a marked change in language from the outgoing Russian president, who has in the past angrily berated the United States for its “unilateral” drive to install missile defences in eastern Europe.
A joint declaration noted that Moscow saw US confidence-building measures as “important and useful” and that Russia shared the United States’ “interest in creating a system for responding” to potential missile threats.
The declaration also held out the possibility of large-scale cooperation between Moscow and Washington on the anti-missile question.
“Both sides expressed their interest in creating a system for responding to potential missile threats in which Russia and the United States and Europe will participate as equal partners,” the declaration said.
“This is new rhetoric from the presidents who underlined the need to agree,” analyst Alexei Malashenko, from the Moscow Carnegie Centre, told AFP.
“Russia has understood that if you can’t beat them, then you must join them,” he added.
It was the last summit between Bush, whose term ends at the start of next year, and Putin, who hands over to Dmitry Medvedev on May 7.
Bush also met in Sochi with Medvedev, who was eased in as Putin’s successor in an election this March that was carefully controlled by the authorities. He has never held elected office and has little foreign policy experience.
Bush said he looked forward to getting to know Medvedev “so we’ll be able to work through common problems.” The Russian president-elect said he wanted “to act so that our relations develop further without interruption.”
Observers said Putin and Bush were keen to end their presidential relationship on a high note after eight years that have seen NATO expand closer to Russia’s borders and growing tension over what critics say is Putin’s authoritarian rule.
The US anti-missile plan foresees installing interceptor rockets in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic to guard against potential attacks from what Washington terms “rogue states,” notably Iran.
Russia counters that Iran poses no missile threat to the United States and says it views the shield as a threat to its own offensive capability. Washington insists the system is not intended to subvert Russia’s security.