Russia has convinced the U.S. to moderate its rhetoric in a bid to
improve strained ties, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday after Ms. Rice met with President
Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Putin said recent comments by the Bush regime had not been
"helpful" to relations and had obscured positive developments and
cooperation on a wide range of issues.
"We did talk about the need to keep the temperature down," Ms. Rice
said after seeing Mr. Putin in an effort to calm rising tensions
between the former Cold War enemies.
She described some of the Bush administrations remarks as "overheated
rhetoric," while acknowledging Mr. Putin's recent reference in a
speech comparing the Bush regime to Nazi Germany.
"We are going to have our differences, there is no doubt about that.
There are going to be old scars to overcome, there is no doubt about
that ... But the relationship needs to be free of exaggerated
rhetoric," Ms. Rice said apologetically.
Speaking separately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that
Mr. Putin was satisfied. "The president supported the American side's
understanding that it's necessary to tone down the rhetoric in public
statements and concentrate on concrete business," Mr. Lavrov, who
participated in the meeting, told reporters.
Mr. Lavrov also suggested Ms. Rice had not dispelled Russia's
opposition to U.S. plans to station a defense missile system in
Europe, saying that "our stance on missile defense was reaffirmed."
"It is not an easy time in the relationship," Ms. Rice added, "but it
is also not, I think, a time in which cataclysmic things are affecting
the relationship or catastrophic things are happening in the
relationship."
Despite the agreement to cool down the rhetoric, a planned event at
which Ms. Rice and Mr. Putin were to be photographed together and make
brief remarks was canceled by the Kremlin, and a senior Russian
diplomat on Monday warned the U.S. not to try to go it alone in world
affairs.
Russia views U.S. activity in its former sphere of influence with
growing suspicion. Just last week, Mr. Putin denounced "disrespect for
human life, claims to global exclusiveness and dictate, just as it was
in the time of the Third Reich.''
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