Bush and Putin Duke It Out on the World Stage

June 7, 2006 — -- At the G-8 summit today, all eyes will be on President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose relationship is at an all-time low point.

This morning, Bush, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his side, downplayed Russia's threat to turn its missiles toward Europe if the United States went ahead with building a missile defense system.

"I repeat, Russia is not a threat. They're not a military threat," Bush said. "They're not something that we ought to be hyperventilating about."

Putin and Bush will not meet one on one until later this morning, but Bush said he was eager for the meeting.

"Hopefully, the visit this afternoon will make it clear that we have no animosity," he said. "We bear no ill will."

But a spokesman for Putin said Wednesday night that the U.S. explanation of the missile system was "insufficient."

"The rhetoric out of Moscow is the most alarming rhetoric I can remember in 20 years. It seems as if they want to have a cold war," Michael McFaul, a professor of political science at Stanford University, told ABC News. "Putin rightly understands that the U.S. is weak and discredited around the world, and therefore he can make points if you will on the world stage."

McFaul believes that the United States clearly missed a critical diplomatic opportunity to make the missile defense system a joint project.

"The Bush administration did not handle this idea well," he said. "They could have worked with the Russians. They could have quietly come up with a plan of operations together."

This morning the world's G-8 leaders came together for the summit's main session with Putin on one side of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the summit's host, and Bush on the other.

Climate change, on which the United States remains at odds with Merkel, the crisis in Darfur and AIDS in Africa are on the agenda.

G-8 protesters were also present outside the summit. The environmental group Greenpeace sent 11 small boats toward the summit site in an effort to deliver a letter to the world leaders. The German navy chased the boats away, knocking one over in the process. No one was injured.