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Bush, Putin to discuss missile defense

JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer

HEILIGENDAMM, Germany - President Bush said he hoped to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that a Europe-based U.S. missile defense system is not an issue either side should “be hyperventilating about.”

Bush and Putin are seeing each other here for the first time since they clashed over U.S. plans for a missile shield flared into Cold War’style rhetoric.

With U.S.-Russia relations at their lowest point in decades, Putin and Bush will sit down Thursday on the sidelines of a summit of the world’s eight major industrialized democracies being held at this seaside resort.

The United State says the shield targets a potential Iranian nuclear weapon, not Russian ones. Russia retorts that’s an “insufficient” explanation. Putin has warned that a new shield could require Russia to retarget missiles toward Europe or take other buildup measures.

Trying to tamp down Moscow’s anger, Bush officials have argued that it’s obvious the defense system isn’t aimed at Russia because of its huge arsenal of nuclear rockets.

“A missile defense system cannot stop multilaunch regimes. … The fact is that you can’t stop two, three, four, five missiles,” the president said after a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

He added: “Russia is not a threat. They’re not a military threat. They’re not something that we ought to be hyperventilating about.”

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