Bush, Putin Get Off to Chummy Start

Russian premier pushes plan for joint anti-missile defense system in lieu of bases in Poland, Czech Reppublic

(NEWSER) - Vladimir Putin yesterday pushed his proposal for cooperating with the US on a joint missile defense system, part of which would be built on Russian soil, the Washington Post reports. The offer, first broached in Germany last month, was welcomed by President Bush as he and the Russian premier wrapped up two days of talks at the Bush compound in Kennebunkport. More»

(NEWSER) - As Barack Obama arrives in Moscow for his toughest diplomatic challenge since taking office, the Guardian looks back on earlier US-Russia showdowns to gauge who had the upper hand.

• Kennedy vs. Khrushchev, 1961: The ultimate cold war summit, shadowed by the space race and the Berlin Wall. A draw, although JFK might have come out slightly ahead.

(AP) - George H.W. Bush celebrated his 85th birthday by skydiving over the coast of Maine today. The 41st president made a tandem jump with a member of the Army's Golden Knights parachute team onto a landing zone near a church in Kennebunkport, where the family has a summer home. "I don't feel a day over 84," he told the Portland Press Herald. More»

Part of plot to win votes for McCain, he claims

(NEWSER) - Invoking the era of Cold War conspiracies, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the US of sparking conflict in Georgia to give John McCain a campaign boost. “They need a small victorious war,” the told CNN. He insisted the US encouraged Georgia to attack their two breakaway regions earlier this month, forcing Russia to intervene. The White House called the accusations “absurd." More»

US disarmament partly to blame for Georgia war, says Schoenfeld

(NEWSER) - Diplomats and pundits have debated what led Russia to attack Georgia so forcefully, pointing to everything from newfound economic strength to a sense of national humiliation. But Gabriel Schoenfeld, editor at neoconservative magazine Commentary, has another explanation: it's Russia's growing nuclear advantage, especially with short-range arms, that has "helped embolden the bear." More»