The leaders of the United States and Russia expressed willingness during their first summit meeting held in Ljubljana Saturday to repair relations between the two countries, which cooled down in the first few months after George W. Bush assumed the U.S. presidency in January.

Although the two sides still differ on such issues as the Anti- Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and NATO enlargement, Bush and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, agreed to launch an extensive dialogue on a wide range of issues that they can constructively address together in a bid to build a new and constructive relationship beyond the mentality of the Cold War.

After a two-hour meeting at Brdo Castle, about 25 kilometers north of Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, Bush and Putin said at a joint press conference that they were satisfied with their first face-to-face dialogue.

"My meeting with President Putin today (Saturday) is an important step in building a constructive, respectful relationship with Russia," Bush said while describing the talks as " straightforward and productive."

On his part, Putin said the meeting, which was "open and frank, " laid a good basis for Russia and the United States to start building on further cooperation.

"We're all geared up to work in the future constructively, pragmatically, and to establish a very good, predictable relationship," he added.

Both leaders said the U.S. and Russia will no longer treat each other as "enemies." They agreed to continue the dialogue after the summit, exchange visits, and direct ministerial officials from both governments to discuss security, economic cooperation and other issues of mutual concern.

It was no surprise that the summit ended without any formal agreement. Even before the summit, U.S. and Russian officials had tried to play down expectations for the meeting, saying that it was impossible for the two leaders to settle their differences at their first ever summit.

"This will be an opportunity for the two men to get to know each other and an opportunity to sketch out a broad vision for the relationship," said Bush's national security adviser Condoleeza Rice at a background briefing prior to Bush's departure for a five- nation Europe tour.

Slovenia was the last leg of Bush's trip which had also taken him to Spain, Belgium, Sweden and Poland.

"The main thing is not to expect any breakthrough results from this summit," said Sergei Yastrzhembsky, a senior aide to Putin. " It opens a possibility for a personal acquaintance between the two presidents," he added.

Despite the low expectations, both Bush and Putin tried to sound a positive tone about their meeting. Bush, in particular, displayed excessive enthusiasm and conciliatory gestures which are in sharp contrast with his administration's tough talks about Russia during his first few months in office.

This suggests that acting upon their different national interests, Washington and Moscow are embarking on an effort to put their troubles behind and move towards building a stable and cooperative relationship.

The Bush team's U-turn on relations with Russia is the result of increasing international and domestic pressure facing the administration as well as recent policy reviews by some Republican think tanks.

The Bush administration, which has been very suspicious of President Putin's government, kicked off a series of troubles in relations with Russia by talking tough to Moscow from day one in office.

Instead of treating Russia as a "strategic partner" as the former Clinton administration did, the Bush team believed that Russia remained the number one potential rival despite the end of the Cold War.

The White House felt extremely uneasy over Putin's effort to strengthen military cooperation with Iran and restore close relations with some allies of the former Soviet Union.

Shortly after the exposure of the spy scandal of former FBI agent Robert Hanssen, Washington announced in March the expulsion of some 50 Russian diplomats, plunging relations with Russia to a record low in years.

Dubbing the 1972 ABM treaty as "a relic of the Cold War," the Bush administration has also repeatedly threatened to abrogate the treaty and go on with its plan to deploy national missile defense systems regardless of strong opposition from Moscow.

However, the Bush administration, which has been indulging in unilateralism since it was inaugurated, is becoming increasingly isolated in the world and has recently suffered a series of diplomatic setbacks.

Although Washington has tried its best to sell its controversial missile defense program to the international community, its wary allies in Europe have advised it to negotiate a new framework with Russia to accommodate the program, and refrain from unilateral actions in fear that the move may jeopardize decades of global arms reduction efforts and trigger a dangerous new arms race.

What is worse, Bush's aggressive push for a conservative agenda at home has recently led to the defection of a Republican senator, depriving the Republican Party of its majority edge in the senate which has an influential sway in the U.S. foreign policy.

There are signs that the Bush administration is reversing course on some diplomatic fronts in face of increasing international and domestic pressure.

Meanwhile, some Republican think tanks, which have recently concluded a policy review of the U.S. policy towards Russia, believed that a declining Russia is no longer a serious threat to the U.S. and advised the Bush administration to develop a "normal relationship" with Russia and move bilateral relations beyond the mentality of the Cold War era.

Russia, on the other hand, is prepared to formulate a stable relationship with the U.S. because it needs economic assistance from the West to revive its economy.

Though it has been strongly opposed to the U.S. plan to deploy missile defense systems, Russia is realistic enough to think that at the end of the day, the U.S. may go its own way on the plan in spite of Russian objection. Drawing a lesson from the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Russia will deem an arms race with the U. S. as an undesirable option.

In fact, Russian leaders, including President Putin, repeatedly expressed willingness to develop constructive cooperation with the U.S. even when relations between the two sides were in trouble in the first few months this year.

Although Bush and Putin sounded a positive tone about bilateral relations at their debut summit, political analysts believe that it takes time to build mutual trust.

It is also impossible for the two countries to wipe out their differences on issues such as the ABM treaty, the U.S. missile defense plan and NATO enlargement in the near future.

Speaking at his joint press conference with Putin, Bush indicated again that the U.S. may go its own way on the missile defense program.

"As we work together to address the world as it is, not as it used to be, it is important that we not only talk differently, we also must act differently," he said while summarizing up his talks with Putin.

The Russian leader immediately cautioned that "any unilateral actions can only make more complicated various problems and issues. "

He reiterated that the ABM treaty remains the cornerstone of the modern architecture of international security.

(Xinhua 06/17/2001)