Bush And Putin Dine In Friendly Atmosphere At Ranch In Texas

The dinner given by Mr. and Mrs. Bush in honour of Vladimir and Lyudmila Putin at their ranch in Crawford, Texas passed in "a friendly and easy atmosphere". The Presidents were not talking politics within these three hours, Deputy Head of the Kremlin administration Sergei Prikhodko told journalists. According to Prikhodko, the presidents discussed political issues, particularly, the regional conflicts and Russian-US interaction in Afghanistan in the morning. The cooperation of the two countries in this sphere "is becoming regular, specific and constructive", Prikhodko noted. According to RIA Novosti, they also discussed strategic stability, START and ABM issues, the development of cooperation in combating biological terrorism. The presidents focused on the new level of trust between the two countries, the agency's sources said.