Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that terrorists pose a far greater threat to global security than the volatile "rogue states" cited by US President George W Bush.
In a clear reference to President Bush’s desire to scrap the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, Mr Putin has again shown his negative view of US plans to build a missile defence shield.
Mr Putin's latest argument in favour of the 1972 ABM treaty comes hours before the Russian leader leaves for a key summit with President Bush.
The Kremlin said Mr Putin will fly to Washington as scheduled despite today's plane crash in New York.
Addressing Russia's most senior military commanders before his departure, Mr Putin highlighted the threat of international terrorism and the biological attacks now spreading across the United States.
He said evidence was mounting that terrorists were seeking access to weapons of mass destruction. He stressed the dangers justified Russia's view that specific global terror networks - and not "rogue states" with limited missile capabilities such as North Korea or Iraq - posed the biggest threat to international security.
The Bush administration has used accusations against "rogue states" as its primary argument in favor of a new, looser strategic agreement that would allow nations to build missile defence shields.
Russia argues that doing away with the ABM would only compound security threats because budding nuclear powers would then have an incentive to rapidly develop their missile arsenals, sparking a new arms race.
"An analysis of the rapidly changing situation shows that we correctly determined the character of new threats to our national security," Mr Putin said.
"Terrorism threatens the entire system of international stability. We have to understand that the terrorists' aim is to gain access to weapons of mass destruction. Bio-terrorism has already become a reality," he added.
Russia has played down expectations from the three-day summit that starts tomorrow in Washington before shifting to Mr Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas and concluding Thursday in New York.
Foreign Minister Mr Igor Ivanov has cautioned that no formal missile treaty is likely to be signed by the two leaders although Mr Putin himself expressed optimism that he and Bush could find a common view on missile defence.
AFP