Putin Offers to Expand Plan for Missile Defense

By JIM RUTENBERG

KENNEBUNKPORT, Me., July 2 — Announcing he was “here to play,” President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said today that he was ready to expand his proposal for a shared missile defense system with the United States during meetings with President Bush here, a step that he said would take American-Russian relations to a new level of cooperation.

But the system would be based almost entirely in the former Soviet Union, and Mr. Putin’s proposal represented a continued rejection of an American plan to base it in the Czech Republic and Poland.

And the proposal seemed likely to lead to still more haggling over a joint missile defense plan after a set of meetings at the Bush family compound here that had been portrayed as an attempt to smooth over differences that both sides consider to be the most daunting since the cold war ended.

“We support the idea of consultations on missile defense and believe that the number of participants should be expanded to include the European states,” Mr. Putin said during a brief news conference here today. “This should be done within Russia-NATO council.”

Mr. Putin, who had proposed only weeks ago that the United States place its antimissile system in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, said he did not believe it was necessary to install it in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Mr. Bush, who smiled through much of the news conference, described in his own words the talk of “a regional approach to missile defense,” then added, “I’m in strong agreement with that concept.”

But Mr. Putin’s proposal seemed to catch the Americans by surprise to some degree, although Mr. Bush made it clear that he still intended to pursue plans for missile radar instillations in the Czech Republic and Poland. “I think the Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of the system,” he said.

The two met in this serene, seaside setting with the intention of smoothing over the deep wrinkles that have developed in their relationship during the past six years. But they approached reporters with an air of grimness that only broke when they discussed their morning fishing trip, during which Mr. Putin caught a fish. (Mr. Bush and his father caught none during three outings this weekend.)

Mr. Putin’s new suggestions for the missile defense system came in spite of Russian officials’ statements — offered as late as 10 p.m. Sunday — that he would offer no new proposals this weekend.

It was unclear where exactly the two leaders’ discussions left the issue. The United States has been negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic over its plans to place missile defense bases in those countries, but American officials were taken aback by the ferocity of Russian opposition to those plans. That opposition was one the many factors that led to the Kennebunkport meeting.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin today also emphasized their common concerns about the Iranian nuclear program.

“We discussed a variety of ways to continue sending a joint message,” Mr. Bush said.

“When Russia and the United States speak along the same lines, it tends to have an effect, and therefore I appreciate the Russians’ attitude in the United Nations,” he said. “We’re close on recognizing that we got to work together to send a common message.”

Mr. Putin predicted that “we will continue to be successful” as the United Nations Security Council seeks ways to pressure the government in Tehran to halt a uranium enrichment program that Iranian leaders insist is peaceful but which other nations fear could lead to Iran’s developing nuclear weapons.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin left unclear whether they had agreed on any new approach toward Iran — with which Russia has major economic relations — or simply had found a way to imply a more comfortable unity.

Security Council members are weighing an American proposal for sanctions against Iran if it continues to enrich uranium. The United States and Russia, along with the other permanent members of the Security Council, have said they will delay those sanctions if Iran stops its work as they attempt to revive negotiations over the nuclear program.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin made their comments came toward the end of a two-day visit in Kennebunkport. It was the first time the current president had invited a head of state to the family estate here. The meeting was crafted to give Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin the most comfortable and relaxed possible setting to deal with a series of issues dividing the two powers, from Iran to the Middle East and Kosovo.

Earlier today, with former President George H.W. Bush at the wheel, the two leaders took a 90-minute spin in a powerful speedboat near the shoreline around the oceanfront estate.

As they spoke, the current President Bush in particular looked at ease, frequently smiling. He wore a striped long-sleeve blue shirt open at the collar, while Mr. Putin sported a white short-sleeve shirt, also open at the collar.

“We had a good, casual discussion,” Mr. Bush said. “There’ve been times we agreed on issues and times we haven’t agreed.” But he asserted that Mr. Putin had been “consistent, transparent, honest” and open to discussing both opportunities and problems.

Mr. Bush said the men had discussed a wide range of issues in what had been a “very long, strategic dialogue.”

Mr. Putin said he was “pleased to note that we are seeking the points of coincidence in our positions and very frequently we did find them.”

He thanked Mr. Bush for “a very nice fishing party this morning.”

But the smiles and warm words stood in uneasy juxtaposition with months of uncommonly chilly rhetoric from the Russian president and some of his aides — climaxing with Russian warnings that if the United States proceeded to build the missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, Russia might “target” those American allies.

Starting early this year, Mr. Putin has assailed American “unilateralism,” said an “ideology of confrontation and extremism” was emerging global threats, and even — though the Kremlin later denied it — seemed to compare the United States to the Third Reich and to some of the darker days of Stalinism.

Diplomatic analysts believe such language is not unconnected to the approach of parliamentary elections in Russia in December and the nation’s presidential elections three months later.

Brian Knowlton contributed reporting from Washington.