WASHINGTON — President Bush announced Wednesday that he will make an unexpected trip to Russia after a NATO summit next week to meet with President Vladimir Putin in hopes of repairing relations that have grown strained over missile defense, Kosovo independence and NATO expansion.
The decision surprised even some key U.S. officials and set both governments scrambling to accommodate the last- minute visit and put together an agreement to justify it. For Bush, the meeting represents a gamble that he can still resolve thorny disputes with Russia before Putin steps down as president May 7.
“I’m optimistic we can reach accord on very important matters,” Bush told a group of foreign journalists at the White House. “I think a lot of people in Europe would have a deep sigh of relief if we’re able to reach an accord on missile defense. And hopefully we can.”
Putin has tempered his anti-American rhetoric since this month’s Russian election ratified his handpicked successor, and he held what both sides described as a constructive meeting last week with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The Washington Post
