SOCHI, Russia — President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to overcome differences over a U.S. missile-defense system, closing their seven-year relationship Sunday far apart on an issue that has separated them from the beginning.
“Our fundamental attitude toward the American plan has not changed,” Putin said at a news conference with Bush at his vacation house at this Black Sea resort.
“Obviously, we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Bush said.
Bush reiterated his insistence that the plan — designed to intercept and destroy approaching ballistic missiles at high altitudes — should not be viewed as a threat to Russia. In a clear reference to Iran, he said the system would help protect Europe from “regimes that could try to hold us hostage.”
Bush and Putin issued a joint statement on missile defense as part of a “strategic framework” to guide relations between the U.S. and Russia.
The statement outlined timeworn U.S. and Russian positions but also held out the prospect for future cooperation, perhaps on a joint system.
Putin declared there were no breakthrough solutions but said “certain progress is obvious.” He was referring to U.S. concessions to assuage Russia’s concerns. U.S. officials said that was what they wanted to hear him say.
Putin called the U.S. plan, which envisions basing tracking radar sites in the Czech Republic and interceptors in Poland, the hardest of U.S.-Russian differences to reconcile.
“This is not about language. This is not about diplomatic phrasing or wording. This is about the substance of the issue,” he said.
Bush also conferred with Putin’s handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev. He said Putin’s protege was “a straight forward fellow.”
At their 28th and final meeting as heads of state, Bush and Putin sought to emphasize their good personal relations. But they also acknowledged strong disagreements, principally missile defense and NATO’s eastward expansion.
