Bush, Putin aim to defuse tensions in Black Sea summit

Russia's Vladimir Putin welcomed US President George W. Bush to his Black Sea home yesterday at the start of a farewell summit they hope will ease strains over Nato and missile defence, and polish their legacies.

Bush had said he was looking forward to a last "heart-to-heart" with the Russian leader before he leaves the Kremlin next month, and the two men hugged as they greeted each other outside Putin's holiday villa in the resort of Sochi.

The US leader will hope to capitalise on a less strident tone struck by Putin at a Nato summit in Bucharest early last week, where Putin attacked Western military expansion near Russia's borders but also implored: "Let's be friends, guys."

Earlier, as Bush was en route to Sochi, a White House spokeswoman said dialogue on US plans for a missile defence shield in eastern Europe - fiercely opposed by Putin - was "headed in the right direction".

But the spokeswoman, Dana Perino, acknowledged that more work would be needed after Sochi before a compromise deal on the shield is finalised. Putin is fiercely opposed to the shield, saying it will threaten Russian security.

Perino told reporters the two men were expected to sign an agreement in Sochi on the 'strategic framework' of US-Russian relations - a document some observers say is designed to encapsulate the legacy they will bequeath to their successors.

Bush, also in the twilight of his presidency, was meeting the Russian leader seven years after saying he had peered into Putin's soul and trusted him.

Since then relations between their two countries have grown tense but the two men showed their personal chemistry was still intact as the visit began with a presentation on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, which Sochi will host.

They exchanged smiles, winks and asides as they were shown a scale model of the planned facilities in a guest house at Putin's compound.

Bush is out to salvage a foreign policy legacy dominated by the Iraq war, which has damaged US credibility.

He is also struggling to stay relevant on the world stage now that his economic stewardship is under fire and attention is focused on whoever will succeed him in January 2009.

For his part, Putin is looking for a smooth transition of Russia's presidency to his protégé, Dmitry Medvedev.