Russia's outgoing President Vladimir Putin hosted his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush on Sunday in his presidential residence in this Black Sea resort.
However, the two leaders failed to reach substantial agreements on vital issues ranging from missile shield plans to NATO expansion, but they did agree to continue dialogue to settle disputes and improve ties in a joint declaration issued after the one-day summit.
MISSILE SHIELD DILEMMA
The United States will "convince the experts that it's not against Russia," Bush told a press conference following the talks, in a bid in vain to eliminate Russia's worry and objection to its plans to deploy a third missile shield in Central Europe.
Two rounds of talks between top diplomats and defense officials of the two states have failed to make any breakthrough on the shield that consists of 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic.
Washington says it will prevent potential missile attacks from Iran but Moscow says it will pose a threat to its national security.
Bush promised to share technology and information on the system to improve transparency and build up confidence.
Putin, however, urged Washington to do more. Focusing on "how those confidence-building and transparency measures will be implemented," he said he was glad that Russia's concerns "have been heard" in those talks and Sunday's meeting.
A compromise is that the two states pledged to work "as partners" on equal footing in building a global missile shield to cope with potential threat.
Local analysts say that Moscow could expect either to postpone the U.S. project until a Democratic administration sweeps into power in the coming months, or to downgrade its technology to relieve its threat to Russia.
BILATERAL TIES
Putin said his face-to-face talks with Bush in Sochi, the last between the two leaders, was in "a quiet tone," although Russia-U.S. ties have plunged into a post-Cold War low in the last eight years.
"First of all, I would like to thank the American president for accepting the invitation to visit Sochi and sum up results of our eight-year joint work. I think George agrees that results of this work are generally positive," Putin said, opening Sunday's talks.
"We established a frank relationship at our first meeting in Ljubljana, and this relationship enabled the immediate discussion of pressing international and bilateral issues," he added.
"Our countries still have serious differences over certain problems and it is not easy to find points of contact," Putin told reporters, noting the two sides strived to shun negative impact and "the entire system of Russian-American relations is stable."
Joking on Saturday's informal meeting and dinner with Putin held upon his arrival and accompanied by folk music and dance, Bush called Putin a "strong leader" who feels free to speak his mind.
He told reporters that the Cold War has passed and that the two countries are no longer enemies.
"We have reaffirmed that the era when Russia and the United States viewed one another as enemies, or as a strategic threat, is gone," says the declaration on the strategic framework of Russia-U.S. relations.
PRESIDENT-ELECT'S VOICE
Following the March 2 election, Putin is to leave office on May7, when his successor and close ally, President-elect Dmitry Medvedev, will take office. Bush will also step down at the end of the year.
Describing Medvedev as a "smart fellow," Bush said his meeting with the next Russian head of state in Sochi on Sunday was "impressive" and that he was "looking forward to working with him."
Medvedev, widely seen as a pro-liberal politician, has vowed to continue Putin's policies.
The declaration on the strategic framework of Russia-U.S. relations also listed the main subjects in bilateral ties for the two states' future leaders.
"Russian-American relations are the key factor of security in the world," Russian news agencies quoted Medvedev as saying during talks with Bush in Sochi.
The youngest ever Russian president-elect, 42, pledged to promote bilateral ties "without hitches in the future" after taking power.
"There might be some breakthrough, at least in the mode of Russia-U.S. relations," said Viktor Mizin, an analyst with the Institute for Strategic Assessment.
Source:Xinhua
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