Presidents Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush are to hold informal talks Sunday and Monday at the Bush family estate in Kennebunkport, Maine.
"Even if they fail to find any solutions on the CFE [Conventional Forces in Europe] and ABM [Anti-Ballistic Missile] treaties, they will at least instruct their representatives to launch serious discussions on the possibility of Russian-American cooperation in missile defense," Sergei Rogov, President of the Russian Institute for U.S. and Canada Studies, said during a RIA Novosti video link.
Russia is staunchly opposed to U.S. plans to deploy a missile shield in Eastern Europe, and has declared a moratorium on its compliance with the CFE treaty until the NATO signatories ratify its updated version.
Rogov also dismissed speculations that the two nations were on the brink of a Cold War.
"The presidents of the two countries are determined to develop bilateral relations, and have no plans to crown their terms in office with a new Cold War between Russia and the U.S," he said.
