Bush, Putin meet in Maine to cool tension

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived here Sunday for a patch-up session at the Bush family compound as antiwar protesters filled this resort town.

Putin, the first world leader invited by Bush to stay with him at the oceanfront estate built by Bush's great-grandfather, headed to Walker's Point for a 24-hour visit intended to cool recent tensions in U.S.-Russian relations.

Although aides predicted no breakthroughs, there was hope for disagreeing more agreeably.

Bush waited at his family's seacoast estate as his father, former President George H.W. Bush, met Putin at a nearby airport and rode with the Russian leader in a helicopter to the compound. Emerging from a limousine, Putin handed large bouquets of flowers to first lady Laura Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, then kissed them on both cheeks.

Neither president made public comments after Putin's afternoon arrival, but Putin said before leaving Moscow that he maintains "good and even friendly relations" with Bush.

"Politics, like sport, is an arena of competition," he said Sunday, according to the Interfax news agency. "But it's important that these competitions abide by the set rules and are based on respect [for] each other's interests."

What both sides need most, it appears, is a way around a dispute that has inflamed tensions: Bush's insistence on deploying defensive missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic to guard against "rogue" threats, that of Iran in particular.

Putin has offered an old Soviet-built radar installation in Azerbaijan to support the missile defenses, suggesting the United States could station its missiles on ships. But he adamantly opposes the deployment of missiles in Poland.

Similarly, Bush and Putin are at odds over Kosovo's ambitions for independence from Serbia, with Russian leaders resisting the move. And they are at odds over the progress of democracy in Russia.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, national-security adviser Stephen Hadley and their Russian counterparts will join the presidents, but there will be more informal one-on-one time as well as possibly fishing, aides said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters marched for the second summer to the security checkpoint guarding Walker's Point.

"Hey, hey, ho, ho, Bush and Cheney have got to go," they chanted. Many carried signs advocating impeachment, and some rolled a casket with a mock Statue of Liberty inside. Others had handmade signs with slogans such as, "Drop Bush Not Bombs" and "GWB is a WMD."

The antiwar protesters passed about 20 counterdemonstrators holding U.S. flags and signs saying, "Support Our Troops."

Russia holds elections in March to choose Putin's successor. Bush is out of office in 19 months. So the only other time for the leaders to get together is briefly on the sidelines of a fall summit in Australia of Asia-Pacific leaders.

Dinner on Sunday was to include the current and former President Bushes, along with their wives. Putin's wife did not make the trip.

George W. Bush and Putin planned to have breakfast alone today, followed by an informal meeting and a brief appearance before reporters. The less-than-24-hour visit was ending with lunch.

The Associated Press and Chicago Tribune contributed to this report.