MOSCOW
Bush letter to Putin opens up possibility of deeper negotiations
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday endorsed parts of a private proposal from President Bush that could lead to a new strategic framework between the two nations, including progress on troubling issues like missile defense, nuclear arms control and nonproliferation.
Putin said a letter from Bush, which had not previously been disclosed, was "a very serious document."
Even so, Putin, who held talks Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, warned that significant differences remained.
The tone of the Russian leader's talks with Rice and Gates was far more cordial than when the two Cabinet members traveled to Moscow in October for negotiations on missile defense. And the breadth of issues that Bush and Putin agreed to put on the table was evidence that, before he leaves office, Bush is making a final push for a calmer relationship with the Kremlin after angering it with proposals for missile defenses in eastern Europe.
"We believe that in some of these issues, we can probably dot the I's and reach final agreement," Putin said, referring to topics raised in the Bush letter as he sat down to meet with Rice and Gates. The Americans also met with Russian President-elect Dmitry Medvedev.
At a late-night news conference, Rice said that Bush had sent the letter to Putin within the past five days and that it was an effort to gauge the Kremlin's interest in formalizing cooperation on issues where agreement had been found or was near, while pressing for a deal on the more contentious policies. Rice declined to label the letter a formal "strategic framework" to guide Washington-Moscow relations, a concept advocated by some Russian analysts and scholars who have been troubled by the caustic tone of the relationship. The details of the letter were not released.
NEW YORK TIMES
about the writer
In interviews with the Star Tribune, Ryan described life before and after the Russian invasion in the country, where she’s worked to secure the border and help refugees flee war-torn areas.