Bush, Putin talks in second day

Jul 2, 2007, 15:11 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin (2R) holds aloft a fish he caught while fishing with U.S. President George W. Bush (R) and former U.S. President George H W Bush (L) off the coast of Kennebunkport, Maine, USA on 2 July 2007. Bush and Putin are holding a two day informal summit at the Bush family compound. EPA/CJ GUNTHER

Washington - US President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Monday morning for the second day of talks aimed at overcoming major differences on a host of international issues, including US plans to deploy missile defence to Eastern Europe.

The two leaders met in the relaxed atmosphere of the oceanfront estate owned by Bush's parents in Kennebunkport, Maine, for the low- key discussions on relations that have fallen to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

The younger Bush has hosted several foreign leaders at his private ranch in Texas. Putin is the first hosted in Kennebunkport in Bush's nearly six and a half years in office. The two were expected to appear before the press later Monday.

US plans to deploy a missile defence system in the Czech Republic and Poland have angered Moscow and produced sharp verbal exchanges between both sides. The Kremlin views the system as a threat to its national security, while Washington maintains that missile defences are geared toward fending off Iran's potential ballistic missile threat.

The deployment is expected to be high on the agenda, along with Iran's refusal to comply with UN Security Council demands to halt uranium enrichment and come clean about its nuclear activities. Bush and Putin also differ over a UN plan granting Kosovo independence from Russia's traditional ally Serbia.

The White House and Kremlin are playing down expectations that the two leaders will reach any significant breakthroughs during the meetings, designed to be a candid discussion of their differences.

Bush wants the missile shield to protect against Iran's growing nuclear and missile capabilities, but Russia views the system as a threat to its own nuclear missile stockpile that could offset the arms balance, and doesn't share the US view of an Iranian threat.

Seeking to ease the tension, Putin countered earlier this month with an offer to Bush that includes the use of a Russian radar site in Azerbaijan, instead of Washington building a new array in the Czech Republic. Bush has not formally responded to the proposal or ruled it out, but US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said that the Azerbaijani site in Gabala cannot be a substitute for the US system.

Russian officials have warned that a rejection of Putin's compromise offer would reinforce the Kremlin's view that the US missile plan is really designed against Russian offences.

US officials have called it 'ludicrous' to conclude that a missile defence system that includes only 10 interceptor missiles in Poland could thwart Russia's thousands of nuclear warheads, and they want to move quickly to start construction because of intelligence estimates that Iran will be able to hit Europe or even the United States by 2015.

There have also been gaps between the United States and Russia over how to deal with Iran. The West alleges that Iranians are using a civilian nuclear energy programme to mask activities aimed at developing a weapon, charges Tehran denies.

The United States and its allies are pushing for a Security Council resolution that would for the third time in less than a year place additional sanctions on Iran's Islamic regime. Russia has been reluctant to embrace strong measures against Iran, only agreeing to do so after weeks of negotiations and a significant weakening of US backed resolutions.

Another key issue that has widened the US-Russia rift is the dispute over the UN plan for Kosovo. Moscow has hinted at the possibility of vetoing the initiative at the UN Security Council.

The United States and European Union back independence for the province, which has been UN administered since NATO intervened in 1999 to halt ethnic violence. Kosovo Serbs fear they will be marginalized by majority ethnic Albanians.

Putin stepped off a US presidential helicopter Sunday with former president George Bush, father of the current president. The elder Bush is in effect the host for the meetings at his summer home.

Putin handed flowers to First Lady Laura Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush. Putin and both presidents Bush posed together for photographs, all wearing jackets over shirts with open collars, and a short time later the three men went boating together in Atlantic waters.