Bush, Putin to Share Break From Tensions

President Bush, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands after their meeting at the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, in this June 7, 2007 file photo. Bush's upcoming summertime meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Bush family's oceanfront estate is about their legacies, lobsters and a brief break from acrid tensions. Relations between Washington and Moscow are on the skids, and both want to massage them before leaving office. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File) (Gerald Herbert - AP)

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine -- President Bush's summertime meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Bush family's oceanfront estate is about lobsters, legacies and a break from increasing tensions.

Relations between Washington and Moscow are strong, but on the skids, and both Bush and Putin want to massage those relations before leaving office.

"It's not a secret the amount of disagreements is rising," Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Putin, said Friday. "Sometimes it's inevitable. It's not a sign of profound crisis in our bilateral relationship."

Putin, bolstered by Russia's economic muscle and popularity at home, has adopted an assertive posture on the world stage. He has bluntly opposed a U.S. missile defense plan in Europe. Putin bristles when Bush scolds the Kremlin for rolling back democratic reforms and fends off what he sees as U.S. meddling in the affairs of ex-Soviet nations.

Bush, dogged by low poll ratings and rising anti-American sentiment around the world, is preoccupied with the war in Iraq, which Putin opposed. With waning U.S. leverage with Russia, Bush is hoping to tone down the rhetoric and find common ground on issues while dining on lobster, or reeling in a few fish.

It will have to be fast.

Putin arrives Sunday afternoon and will be gone less than 24 hours later.

During the Bush-Putin meeting, no major initiatives will be signed, but both are hoping they'll find reason to agree _ or at least politely disagree_ on issues including missile defense, the future of Kosovo, a civilian nuclear reactor cooperation initiative and how to counter Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"I really don't think that either of them want, as part of their legacy, a trashed U.S.-Russian relationship," said Andrew Kuchins, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Kuchins said he can't find any historical precedent for this style of summit.

"Is this the first time that a U.S. leader has hosted a foreign leader at dad's house?" Kuchins asked. "Do Vlad and George need some kind of adult supervision?"

The White House says former President Bush won't be involved in the formal talks, but will be on hand to chat with Putin and the president and go boating in the choppy waters near the Bush compound overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.