He Offers Broader Cooperation, but Key Concerns Remain Unresolved
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine, July 2 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin offered an expanded counterproposal to U.S. missile defense plans on Monday, challenging President Bush to build a regional European missile shield that could include a sophisticated new radar facility on Russian soil.
Putin's proposal went far beyond the cooperation he first suggested in Germany last month and surprised Bush as the two leaders wrapped up two days of informal meetings at the president's family compound in this oceanfront resort town. Bush welcomed the plan, and his advisers said Putin's suggestions convinced them that he is serious about working together, not just posturing, as they initially suspected.
But the two sides remained at odds over the core issue -- whether Bush would deploy anti-missile facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic over the objections of Putin, who sees them as a threat to Russian security. And for all the optimism voiced by senior U.S. officials about the prospects of finding agreement, past attempts by Washington and Moscow to work together to guard against accidental or rogue missile launches have gone nowhere.
"The deck has been dealt, and we are here to play," Putin said as he stood at Bush's side overlooking the rocky coast at the Walker's Point compound. "And I would very much hope that we are playing one and the same game."
The discussion of missile defense dominated a visit intended to repair the deepening fractures in the U.S.-Russian relationship. Putin in recent months has denounced U.S. anti-missile plans as the start of a new arms race, threatened to withdraw from a conventional-forces treaty and implicitly compared Bush's international policies to those of the Third Reich.
Bush hoped to use the relaxed atmosphere here to reestablish a bond frayed since he first met Putin in 2001. Fresh from a speedboat outing with Bush's father, in which Putin caught the only fish, the two presidents emerged from the estate to address reporters and reaffirm their friendship. Playing to wounded Russian pride, Bush hailed the "amazing transformation" in Russia since Putin took office 7 1/2 years ago.
"Is it perfect from the eyes of Americans? Not necessarily," Bush said. "Is the change real? Absolutely. And it's in our interests, in the U.S. interests, to have good, solid relations with Russia."
Bush reiterated that he considers Putin a friend. "Do I trust him? Yes, I trust him," he said. "Do I like everything he says? No. And I suspect he doesn't like everything I say. But we're able to say it in a way that shows mutual respect."
The two presidents avoided the announcements and signings that typify a formal summit, but U.S. officials later said that on Tuesday in Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will sign a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement negotiated over the past year as well as a declaration on fighting nuclear proliferation. They will also release a joint statement on the future of nuclear arms after the expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) regime in 2009.
Putin's missile defense proposal caught Bush and his advisers off guard. Last month Putin suggested using a Soviet-era radar facility in Azerbaijan as an alternative to building a new U.S. radar in the Czech Republic. U.S. officials indicated that the Russian-run installation is too antiquated to target incoming missiles.
Putin addressed that concern during the two-day meeting, saying that if the radar in Azerbaijan is not adequate, Russia will modernize it. And if that is not feasible, he said, Russia will build a modern radar facility in southern Russia. He also proposed putting the system under the auspices of the NATO-Russia Council to make it a European anti-missile shield and advocated setting up joint early-warning centers in Moscow and Brussels.
"There would be no need to place any more facilities in Europe," Putin said. If Bush accepts, Putin added, it would transform U.S.-Russian ties. "The relations between our two countries would be raised to an entirely new level. Gradually, our relations would become those of a strategic partnership nature."
Bush called Putin's proposal "very constructive and bold" and said he is "in strong agreement" with it in principle. But he was not willing to give up plans to install systems in Poland and the Czech Republic. "I think it's very sincere, I think it's innovative, I think it's strategic," Bush said of Putin's proposal. "But as I told Vladimir, I think that the Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of the system."
National security adviser Stephen J. Hadley later called Putin's proposal a "very interesting shift, and some real progress on this issue." But the two nations have tried and failed to coordinate missile defense efforts for years. In 1998, Presidents Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin announced an agreement to build a joint early-warning center in Moscow like the one Putin mentioned Monday. Under the plan, Americans and Russians would share satellite data to avoid false alarms over missile launches. The idea was reaffirmed by Bush and Putin. Nearly a decade later, the center has not been established, a victim of squabbles over politics and legal liability.
Bush and Putin also discussed other issues that have challenged the relationship, including how to pressure Iran to give up its nuclear program and whether the Serbian province of Kosovo should be granted independence. Aides said they also talked about the presidential elections in both countries next year, but they declined to elaborate.
Over their two days here together, the presidents sometimes had meetings joined by top advisers, but they also had a lot of time one-on-one. George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush hosted a lobster and swordfish dinner Sunday night that included first lady Laura Bush as well as Rice, Hadley and their Russian counterparts. And the elder Bush took the two presidents fishing Monday, racing along as fast as 64 mph in his speedboat off the rocky coast.
"It was a very human visit," the former president said on his lawn as reporters awaited his son and the Russian leader. "He had his Labrador with him and threw a stick into the sea. . . . We wanted to make him feel at home here."
Putin reciprocated, saying he appreciated the "warm, homey atmosphere." As a gift, Bush gave Putin a Segway transporter, and he reportedly gave it a try. The former president and first lady own three Segways and regularly zip around their sprawling property on them. A sign at the entrance to Walker's Point reads: "Caution. President on Segway. Slow Down."
The Bushes also gave Putin the chance to catch his first fish off the Maine coast, a 30-inch striped bass. In keeping with Bush custom, Putin threw it back. Bush praised his counterpart for his angling skills when they met reporters, and Putin tried to share credit.
"We caught one fish," Putin said, "but that was a team effort."
Bush laughed. "Very thoughtful of you," he said.
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