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November 22, 2002



Bush, Putin Agree to Work for Better Ties, But Differences Remain

U.S. President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday agreed to work for a better relationship between the two countries but differences still remained.

"We found a good basis to start building on cooperation, counting on a pragmatic relationship between Russia and the United States," Putin said at a joint news conference held with Bush inside Brdo Castle, where the two leaders just finished a two-hour summit meeting.

The Russian president described his meeting with Bush as an " honest, frank dialogue."

Citing his talks with Putin as "straightforward and productive, " Bush said the summit is "an important step in building a constructive, respectful relationship with Russia."

"I am convinced that he and I can build a relationship of mutual respect and candor," Bush said.

Both leaders also agreed to exchange visits for further dialogue on a wide range of issues.

Despite the positive tones struck by both leaders at the press conference, however, differences between the two sides remain over a number of issues, especially the U.S. plan to deploy missile defense shield.

"Any unilateral actions can openly make more complicated" problems and issues between the two countries, Putin said. " Differences in approaches do exist," he added.

Bush also admitted that both sides still differed on a number of issues such as the Chechenya issue and media relations.

(Xinhua 06/17/2001)

In This Series
US, Russia Seeking for New, Constructive Relations

Bush, Putin Agree to More Security Talks

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