Blair praises Putin as 'intelligent, strong leader'

Putin (left) dined with Blair (right) and the British Ambassador to Russia Sir Roderick Lyne

MOSCOW, Russia -- Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair praised President Vladimir Putin as an intelligent and strong leader on the right reform track as the two men headed into a day of talks.

During his brief visit to Moscow, Blair hopes for progress on calming Russia's objections to a U.S. plan for a strategic missile defence system.

Putin, he said, was "an intelligent man and his reform programme is the right reform programme."

ANALYSIS Blair happy to be Putin's link to West

Blair said: "I do personally like him," to reporters on the plane en route to Moscow. "It is necessary to be a strong leader to sort his country out."

Blair is in Moscow to pursue his policy of helping Russia manage change, including military reform and economic restructuring. He dined with Putin at a pub immediately after his arrival on Monday evening.

Blair said the challenges Putin faced were not widely understood in the West -- an economy that had been on the verge of collapse, "desperate" infrastructure and a legal and judicial structure that had to be overhauled.

Formal talks are scheduled between Blair, Putin and his prime minister, Mikhail Kasyanov.

Blair saw opportunities to narrow differences between Moscow and Washington on a proposed U.S. anti-missile shield.

"I think there is a desire for dialogue," Blair said when asked whether the Russians might soften their opposition to the plan -- left by President Bill Clinton for his successor to pursue.

Blair said he understood the U.S. commitment to create a shield against possible missile attack and Russian concern that such plans "take place in the context of negotiated treaties."

Russia's longstanding position is that the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States must remain intact. A senior military official last week suggested for the first time that Moscow might be willing to compromise on the issue, though that was later discounted by other officials.

Blair suggested Putin would make little fuss over the possibility of a base for the system, should it go ahead, being located in Britain. "I don't think he will press me on that," Blair said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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