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Putin surprises on missile shield

Russian President Vladimir V. Putin yesterday in Maine: "The deck's been dealt and we are here to play."

Meeting with Bush in Maine, he signaled cooperation, though a core dispute remained.

By Peter Baker
Washington Post

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine - Russian President Vladimir V. Putin offered an expanded counterproposal to U.S. missile-defense plans yesterday, challenging President Bush to build a regional European missile shield that could include a sophisticated new radar facility on Russian soil.

Putin's proposal went far beyond the cooperation he first suggested in Germany last month and surprised Bush as the two leaders wrapped up two days of informal meetings at the president's family compound. Bush welcomed the plan, and his advisers said Putin's suggestions convinced them that he was serious about working together, not just posturing, as they initially suspected.

But the two sides remained at odds over the core issue - whether Bush would deploy antimissile facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic over the objections of Putin, who sees them as a threat to Russian security. READ MORE

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