Bush, Putin Ready for One-On-One Meeting

Harald Ringstorff, Prime Minister of the German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, left, is greeted by U.S. President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, right, after they arrived at Rostock airport on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 to take part in the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, northern Germany from June 6 to June 8, 2007. (AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski) (Herbert Knosowski - AP)

ROSTOCK, Germany -- Is a tense meeting in the cards for President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin? "Could be," even Bush admits.

The leaders saw each other Wednesday night for the first time since their dispute over putting a U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe flared into Cold War-style rhetoric and sent Russia-U.S. relations sliding to their lowest point in decades.

Bush and Putin are attending a summit of the world's eight major industrialized democracies, which opened with an evening of cocktails, dinner and entertainment with spouses at a rural manor.

Their meeting Thursday held the promise of less crystal, more candor.

Washington is getting fed up with Putin for overseeing what the U.S. perceives as an era of muzzled dissent.

Bush this week put Russia on a par with China, calling U.S.-Russian ties "complex" and criticizing democracy as being "derailed" under Putin.

The remarks carried extra sting because they were delivered publicly and in the Czech Republic. The former Soviet satellite threw off communism in 1989 and is a NATO member, along with other Eastern European nations _ which has become a thorn in Russia's side.

The stepped-up criticism from Bush came as Moscow offers strong objections to the proposed missile shield.

Bush administration officials have tried to lower Russia's anger.

Even Putin's warning that a new shield could require Russia to retarget missiles toward Europe earned only a muted reaction from Bush. He dismissed Putin's bellicose talk, suggesting it could be bluster intended more for internal political consumption in Russia, which holds elections next year.

There are other items on the disagreement list, notably Russia's unhappiness with U.S. support for independence for the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo. Russia bristles at what it sees as U.S. meddling in its affairs and its traditional sphere of influence.

Moscow has shown more willingness of late to help the West take on Iran over its nuclear program. Washington wants to preserve this momentum.