Putin, Bush Do the Diplomatic Two-Step

It takes two to tango, and President Bush cut a rug Saturday with Vladimir Putin -- the man whose eyes he once gazed into and saw his soul. At the last meeting for the two leaders -- Putin cedes the presidency to Dmitry Medvedev in May, and Bush is wrapping up his last year in the White House -- there wasn't any dramatic talk of the Eastern Europe missile defense system that has raised tension in recent years. They're supposed to sit down tomorrow and talk more business, but today (story here) was just goulash and good times:

"There was a Cossack chorus and folk dancing during entertainment over dinner. Putin and Bush made their way to the stage and took part in a traditional dance, White House press secretary Dana Perino said. 'They are comfortable with each other in less formal settings,' she said.

While Bush and Putin relaxed, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was at a table with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, presumably going over business for the presidents' talks Sunday.

Six tables with six seats each were arranged in a long rectangular room. Bush and his wife, Laura, sat next to each other. Putin put himself at Bush's side. Dmitry Medvedev, Putin's hand-picked successor, sat next to the first lady. Putin's wife and Medvedev's wife were not seen.

What did they eat? Here's what the menu read:

Venison fillet with vegetable salad and pickled wild mushrooms with raspberry sauce; pancakes with red caviar and trout; veal loin with baked potatoes and red currant sauce; kulebyaka with salmon and king crab meat; and berry pie with ice cream. (A Google search says kulebyaka is a puff pastry dish.)"

The final summit won't be all puff: There are serious issues that Bush may or may not choose to press Putin on. Unlike Bush, who will be retiring from politics and kicking back on his ranch, Putin's hand-picked successor agreed to name him prime minister, and the P.M. post will likely become a more powerful position. Issues to address include crackdowns on press freedom, the rift caused by Kosovo's independence, and, of course, those missiles and NATO.

From the Toronto Star's Europe Bureau:

"Describing his two terms in power as 'the resurrection of Russia,' Vladimir Putin yesterday delivered a bracing broadside to the NATO summit, warning that while there is no danger of another Cold War, there is also no possibility of global security without full Russian engagement.

Addressing reporters in the wake of candid closed-door meetings with NATO heads of state, the Russian president prefaced his criticisms with an assurance that it is in nobody's interest to plunge back into the 'murky waters of Cold Wars.'

Such a scenario, he said, would be impossible regardless because the old 'ideological differences' no longer exist.

But with the same reasoning, Putin questioned the very existence of NATO, saying the purpose of the expanding transatlantic alliance is unclear today, given that the Soviet Union it was designed to counter is a thing of the past. Instead, he said, NATO appears on a track to continue getting bigger – and nearer to Russia's borders – even when its future role lacks clarity.

'Who is NATO against?' Putin asked. 'The emergence of the powerful military bloc at our borders will be seen as a direct threat to Russia's security. I heard them saying today that the expansion is not directed against Russia. But it's the potential, not intentions, that matters."

(Photo by Artyom Korotayev/Epsilon/Getty Images)