US President George W. Bush praised Russian President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday as a “smart guy” who means what he says, even as they clashed on US missile defense plans.
The two leaders, holding their first face-to-face meeting since Medvedev took the reins from Vladimir Putin in May, also highlighted their cooperation in diplomatic efforts to resolve nuclear disputes with Iran and North Korea.
“There are topics on which we are making progress, such as Iran and North Korea, but there topics on which we diverge, such as the missile shield and European matters, but there are possibilities for agreement,” said Medvedev at the meeting on the fringes of a summit of rich nations in Japan.
PHOTO: AFP
“While there’s [sic] some areas of disagreement, there’s [sic] also areas where I know we can work together for the common good,” the US president said. “I found him to be a smart guy who understood the issues very well.”
“Iran is an area where Russia and the United States have worked closely in the past and will continue to work closely to convince the regime to give up its desire to enrich uranium,” he added.
Seven years after Bush declared he had looked into Putin’s eyes at their first meeting, seen his soul and deemed him trustworthy, the US president declined to offer a similar assessment of the new Russian leader.
“I’m not going to sit here and psychoanalyze the man, but I will tell you that he’s very comfortable, he’s confident,” Bush said. “You may not agree with what he tells you, but at least you know it’s what he believes.”
Later, Medvedev’s diplomatic adviser, Sergei Prikhodko, said the Russian president had warned Bush that installing part of a missile defense shield in Lithuania was “absolutely unacceptable.”
Thus-far inconclusive US talks with Poland on basing 10 missile interceptors there have fueled media reports that Washington may be looking at other possible sites, including Lithuania.
“Any missile defense installation, no matter where in Europe, is not a threat to Russia,” said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe, who called any discussion of bases in Lithuania rather than Poland “premature.”
Bush leaves office in fewer than 200 days and is at his last G8 summit, while Medvedev took office in May and is making his debut at the elite gathering of leaders.
“I reminded him that, yes, I’m leaving, but not until six months and I’m sprinting to the finish. So we can get a lot done together and, you know, a lot of important issues,” the US leader said.
Bush had been expected to raise US worries about the rule of law and democracy in Russia and flaring tensions between former Soviet satellite Georgia and its giant neighbor are on the agenda, US officials said.
He had also planned to reaffirm his support for admitting Russia to the WTO, as they met on the margins of the G8 summit of industrialized nations in the mountain resort.
With his youthful image and reputation for openness, Medvedev, 42, cuts a different character from his mentor Putin, who retains the powerful post of prime minister.
In policy terms, Medvedev has few differences from Putin — notably opposition to US plans to deploy a missile defense system against what Washington says is a threat from Iran and North Korea.
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