By Sandra Sobieraj
Associated Press
CRAWFORD, Texas – President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to reach agreement to open the way for a U.S. national missile defense as they ended three days of summitry today with warm praise for each other.
“We have a difference of opinion,” Bush said when asked about the controversy by a student at Crawford High School.
Still, “Our disagreements will not divide us as nations,” Bush said.
Bush had hoped to win an agreement from Putin to abandon or modify the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, which prohibits national missile defenses. Still, there had been little expectation that the meetings in Washington and on Bush’s ranch would produce a breakthrough.
Russia had opposed any effort to dismantle the 1972 treaty, which is views as a centerpiece for world strategic stability. Bush has characterized the pact as a relic of the Cold War.
“We shall continue our discussions,” Putin said.
He said he and 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,” Putin said.
The two leaders said they had agreed to continue to stand side by side in the war against terrorism.
“Russia has been a strong partner in the fight against terrorism,” Bush said, noting that the first phone call he had received from a foreign leader after the Sept. 11 attacks was from Putin.
He said that in three days of summitry, he and Putin had pledged to reduce nuclear weapons, discussed cooperation in the war on terrorism and in stopping the spread of weapons, and “ways our economies can grow together.”
Bush cited “a new relationship … that will make our lives better.”
Putin called Bush, “A person who does what he says.”
Bush also expressed pleasure with the freeing of eight aid workers who had been held in Afghanistan – two Americans, two Australians and four Germans.
He noted that release of the workers had been one of the conditions he had set on Afghanistan’s Taliban regime. The others were to destroy terrorist camps and bring Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terror network to justice.
“One of those conditions has been met with the release and rescue of the humanitarian aid workers. And the other two will be met, particularly bringing al-Qaida to justice,” Bush told his audience.
Bush, calling Putin at one point by his first name, Vladimir, said that the more he got to know the Russian leader, “the more I get to see his heart and soul, the more I know we can work together in a positive way.”
He joked that he had invited Putin to come back in August, the season of dusty and searing heat here. Bush recounted Putin’s wiseacre reply: “Fine, and maybe you’d like to go to Siberia in the winter.”
Bush called Russia a partner and a friend, telling the Crawford students:
“When I was in high school, Russia was an enemy. Now the high school students can know Russia is a friend, that we’re working together to break the old ties, to establish a new spirit of cooperation and trust so that we can work together to make the world more peaceful.”
During the question-and-answer session with the students, Bush was asked about the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan now that the militant Taliban regime is on the run.
Bush said he and Putin discussed at some length the need to establish an ethnically broad-based post-Taliban government in the country.
“The Taliban is the most repressive, backward group of people we have seen on the face of the earth in a long time,” particularly in their treatment of women, Bush said.
Asked by a young woman if women’s rights in Afghanistan would improve with the fall of the Taliban, Bush noted that both he and Putin have teen-age daughters and share a “keen desire to free the women of Afghanistan.”
Putin, in turn, agreed: “Basically women in Afghanistan are not treated as people.” He called for special programs – primarily proper schooling – to benefit Afghan women.
“What we should avoid in the course of the implementation of such programs and as an end result of their implementation is that a lady would turn into a man.”
Today’s session at Crawford High came after the two leaders and their wives had a private breakfast. On Wednesday night, Bush treated them to a festive Texas-style barbecue on his 1,600-acre spread.
Bush toasted Putin, saying, “Usually you only invite a good friend to your home and that is clearly the case here. I knew that President Putin was a man with whom I could work to transform the relationship between our two countries.”
Putin returned the compliment when he raised his own glass and noted that this was the first time he had been invited into a foreign leader’s home.
“It is hugely symbolic to me and my country that it’s the home of the president of the United States,” Putin said.
The party was small for such a summit between nations, just 29 people total, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, pianist Van Cliburn and pro-golfer Ben Crenshaw.
Bush and Putin are under pressure to reach accord on missile defense. The Pentagon is eager to conduct tests, even though they would violate the current interpretation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and Bush has told Putin he will seek to scrap the pact early next year if they can’t reach agreement.
On the other hand, aides said Bush is considering visiting Russia in the first few months of 2002 – a sign, perhaps, that the president may be willing to wait that long to strike a deal.
“This is one stop along the road. We’ll make other stops after Crawford, but each stop is built on the positive results of the earlier meetings,” said White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.
The unusual ranch visit took place one day after Bush and Putin agreed at the White House to shrink their nations’ strategic nuclear arsenals by two-thirds.
Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.