US President George W. Bush and Russia's Vladimir Putin will try to ease strains over missile defence and NATO expansion and polish their legacies at a farewell summit on the Black Sea that started today.
Bush landed in Russia for his last one-on-one talks with Putin before the Russian president's term ends in May.
The US leader came fresh from a NATO conference in Bucharest that yielded mixed results for his pet projects.
Bush hopes to capitalise on a less strident tone struck by Putin at the NATO summit, where he complained of what he called emerging threats to Russia's security but implored alliance leaders: "Let's be friends, guys."
Earlier, as Bush was en route to the Black Sea resort of Sochi for the two-day summit at Putin's vacation home, a White House spokeswoman said dialogue on U.S. plans for a missile shield in eastern Europe was "headed in the right direction".
But the spokeswoman, Dana Perino, acknowledged that more work would be needed after Sochi before a compromise deal on the shield is finalised. Putin is fiercely opposed to the shield, saying it will threaten Russian security.
Perino told reporters the two men were expected to sign an agreement in Sochi on the "strategic framework" of US-Russian relations -- a document some observers say is designed to encapsulate the legacy they will bequeath to their successors.