Six years ago, US President George W. Bush said he gazed into
Russian President Vladimir Putin's soul. Now he just wants to see
if they can get along.
With US-Russia relations at their lowest point in years,
stirring memories of the Cold War, Bush hopes to ease tensions when
the two leaders hold informal talks on Sunday and Monday at the
Bush family estate in Kennebunkport, Maine.
But even if Bush and Putin can rekindle the personal chemistry
for which they were once dubbed the "George and Vladimir Show,"
expectations are low for making much progress on the disputes that
divide Washington and Moscow.
"You'll see lobster rolls and handshakes," said Sarah Mendelson,
an analyst at Washington's Center for Strategic and International
Studies. "But it won't do a lot to shift what is a generally bleak
relationship between the two countries."
Strains have grown in recent months amid Russia's bitter
opposition to a planned US anti-missile shield in Eastern Europe,
disagreement over statehood for Kosovo and US criticism over what
is seen as Putin's rollback of democracy.
The invitation to Kennebunkport, the first time Bush will host a
foreign leader there, seems to reflect growing US alarm at the
uneasy state of relations.
What complicates matters is that the two leaders face starkly
different situations at home and abroad.
Bush is trying to salvage his final 19 months in office,
confronted by growing opposition to his Iraq policy and approval
ratings around 30 percent, the lowest of his presidency. His room
to maneuver is limited by the war, which has stretched the United
States diplomatically and militarily.
Putin, whose term ends in 2008, is championing a resurgent,
energy-rich Russia with an eye to next year's presidential
elections, widely expected to be won by whichever candidate he
anoints as his successor.
Bush needs to keep Putin in the diplomatic fold to help pressure
Teheran and Pyongyang over their nuclear programs, and the Russian
leader clearly senses the leverage he has.
A chummy relationship with Venezuela's fiery anti-American
president, Hugo Chavez, who meets Putin in Moscow this week, has
also raised eyebrows in Washington.
Despite it all, Bush and Putin both profess a close personal
bond. "I was able to get a sense of his soul," Bush said after his
first meeting with Putin in June 2001.
Critics say Bush was naive to believe the Russian leader was
committed to lasting democratic change. And aides acknowledge Bush
has grown more realistic about Putin, who has become increasingly
harsh in his criticism of Washington.
Though the war of words has been toned down for now, US and
Russian officials agree there will be no breakthroughs on the
missile issue or the future of Kosovo, another major point of
contention, in Kennebunkport.
However, Bush - who until now has preferred to host foreign
leaders in the dusty confines of his Texas ranch - hopes to find
Putin more open to compromise in the cozy setting of his family's
compound on the rocky Maine coast.
(China Daily via agencies June 29, 2007)
