Bush, Putin fail to strike deal

CRAWFORD (TEXAS), NOV. 16. The U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, and the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, failed to strike a deal on Thursday on the issue that has divided them the most, U.S. plans for a National Missile Defence, even as they hailed a new era of warm U.S-Russian cooperation.

``We have a difference of opinion,'' Mr. Bush said at the end of three days of casual summitry in Washington and on Mr. Bush's central Texas ranch. But they agreed on a range of other issues. Mr. Bush said that he and Mr. Putin had pledged to reduce nuclear weapons, discussed cooperation in the war on terrorism and in stopping the spread of weapons, and considered ``ways our economies can grow together.''

Speaking to students at Crawford High School, Mr. Bush cited ``a new relationship ... that will make our lives better.'' Mr. Putin, speaking through a translator, called Mr. Bush, ``A person who does what he says.'' Mr. Bush had hoped to win an agreement from Mr. Putin to abandon or modify the 1972 Anti- Ballistic Missile Treaty, which prohibits national missile defences. Still, there had been little expectation that the meetings in Washington and on Mr. Bush's ranch would produce such a breakthrough. ``We shall continue our discussions,'' Mr. Putin said.

Russia had opposed any effort to dismantle the 1972 treaty, which it views as a centerpiece for world strategic stability. Mr. Bush has characterised the pact as a relic of the Cold War and has said the United States will walk away from it, if necessary. The Pentagon hopes to begin construction on a command and testing centre for the system next spring in Alaska. Despite Mr. Putin's reservations, Mr. Bush ``continues to believe he has got to move forward with the testing programme in a robust way,'' Ms Condoleezza Rice, Mr. Bush's National Security Adviser, said later. She said Mr. Putin continued to believe that the ABM treaty should be left in place. ``We're soon going to run up against certain constraints of the treaty,'' she said.

Mr. Putin said he and Mr. Bush share a common goal to achieve security in the world and to protect against future threats. ``What we differ in is the ways and means we perceive that are suitable for reaching the same objective,'' Mr. Putin said. While acknowledging the failure to agree on missile defence, Mr. Bush said, ``Our disagreements will not divide us as nations.'' The missile defence subject came up in response to a question from a student. ``You probably don't agree with your mother on every issue. You still love her, though, don't you?'' Mr. Bush said. ``Well, even though we don't agree on every issue, I still respect him and like him as a person,'' Mr. Bush said of Mr. Putin.

In his remarks at the high school, Mr. Bush talked about ``reducing and destroying'' the number of warheads. But Mr. Putin offered a slightly different take on that, saying through an interpreter, ``What we do with those arsenals is subject to negotiations, with the result of those negotiations depending on the level of trust between the United States and Russia.'' Still, he said that ultimately, ``We will certainly arrive at a solution decision acceptable both to Russia, to the United States and, indeed, to the entire world.''

- AP

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