Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a planned NATO-Russia summit next month with his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush Friday during a telephone conversation, the Kremlin said.
The two leaders "discussed some urgent issues of the international agenda, including the preparation for the Russia-NATO summit slated for early April," the Kremlin said in a statement.
Bush will join other NATO leaders for the alliance's summit in Bucharest on April 2-4, and Putin is expected to attend a Russia-NATO summit that will take place on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
Ties between Moscow and Washington have been strained by an array of disputes, including U.S. plans to deploy units of its missile defense shield in eastern Europe.
The United States says the proposed interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the neighboring Czech Republic are to protect against potential attacks from what it called "rogue" states.
Russia has fiercely opposed the plan, saying such an installation so close to its territory poses a threat to its national security.
Source: Xinhua
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