US President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, begin their summit in the Slovak capital of Bratislava on Thursday. This is the first summit between the two after Bush's re-election.

Following is a chronology of summits between the two men:

June 16, 2001

Bush and Putin hold their first summit in Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia.

Although the two sides still differ on the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) eastward expansion, they agree to launch extensive and constructive dialogue on a wider range of issues, and decide to exchange presidential visits. Putin reiterates Russia's strong opposition to US missile defense program and amendment to the 1972 ABM Treaty.

July 22, 2001

Putin and Bush meet in Genoa, Italy. They reach agreement on in-depth discussions of both offensive and defense weapons in future arms talks between the two countries. A joint statement after their meeting says the two sides have also agreed on a broad format for strategic arms negotiations between the two countries.

Oct. 21, 2001

The two men hold talks in Shanghai, China, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. They discuss issues ranging from economic cooperation, the fight against terrorism and the ABM Treaty to nuclear weapons.

Nov. 13, 2001

Bush meets Putin at the White House. The two leaders discuss bilateral ties, war on Afghanistan, the Middle East situation and security issues. But they fail to reach agreement on the ABM Treaty.

May 24, 2002

They hold talks in the Kremlin during Bush's first visit to Russia. They sign a treaty on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons. Under the treaty, the two countries will each reduce deployed nuclear warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 before Dec. 31, 2012.

Nov. 22, 2002

Bush pays a working visit to Russia during which he meets Putin in the city of Pushkin near St. Petersburg. They discuss bilateral ties, the Iraq issue, NATO's eastward expansion, terrorism and relations between Russia and NATO.

June 1, 2003

Putin and Bush meet in St. Petersburg. They exchange ratification documents for the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reduction. They also discuss issues such as further development of the strategic partnership between the two countries, reconstruction of Iraq, Iran and the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

Sept. 27, 2003

Putin and Bush begin their two-day summit in Camp David, Maryland of the United States. They discuss Iraq, Iran, the conflict between Israel and Palestinians, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and energy cooperation between the two countries. Despite differences over Iraq, the two vow to strengthen cooperation in fighting terrorism and economic fields.