Putin positive on U.S. defence speech

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says U.S. President George W. Bush's defence policy speech is a good basis for dialogue on international security.

Putin says he agrees with Bush that threats to global peace must be resisted.

In his first response to the speech, in which Bush outlined the U.S. plans to push ahead with a National Missile Defence System, Putin said he agreed with Bush that times had changed in some ways.

"It is difficult not to agree with the president of the United States in this sense, that the world is changing rapidly and new threats are appearing," he said.

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"I agree that we must think about this and resist these threats with sensible actions."

He urged the U.S. to work with Russia on arms issues and welcomed Bush's indications he would consult other countries on a controversial missile defence system.

"First, we should not destroy the established system of international security, and second, we must act together to perfect it," Putin said.

"We have noticed in the U.S. president's statement that our U.S. partners plan to consult with the international community on these crucial issues, including consultations with Russia."

"We are very much counting on this dialogue being constructive."

In his speech on Tuesday, Bush promised to consult allies and other nuclear nations and refrain from unilaterally leaving the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile pact which Moscow sees as a cornerstone of arms control.

"In my opinion this creates a good basis for a positive dialogue," Putin said. "We will see in the future what the result of the dialogue would be."

Following Bush's speech, Russia said it was keen to talk Bush about the plan to press ahead with a national missile defence system.

The Kremlin said it "welcomed consultations with Americans," but insisted on "keeping and strengthening" the existing Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.

Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said he expected Bush and Putin to meet in "the very near future."

"We are ready for consultations, we are ready to set out our position," Reuters quoted Ivanov as saying on Wednesday.

He added: "This document (the ABM treaty) cannot be seen separately from the general architecture of disarmament. That is why we are so insistent in keeping and strengthening ABM."

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Bush's NMD Speech
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