The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Zagreb

President George W. Bush and Russia's Vladimir Putin will try to ease strains over missile defense and NATO expansion and polish their legacies at a farewell summit on the Black Sea starting on Saturday.

Fresh from a NATO conference in Bucharest that yielded mixed results for his pet projects, Bush will wrap up a brief trip to Croatia and fly to Russia for his last one-on-one talks with Putin before the Russian president's term ends in May. Bush hopes to capitalize on a less strident tone struck by Putin at the NATO summit, where he complained of what he called emerging threats to Russia's security but implored alliance leaders: "Let's be friends, guys." Seven years after saying he had peered into Putin's soul and trusted him, Bush -- also in the twilight of his presidency -- has hailed the meeting at a seaside compound in Sochi as their last chance for a "heart-to-heart."