U.S. 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 starting on Saturday.
Fresh from a NATO conference in Bucharest that yielded mixed results for his pet projects, Bush will wrap up a brief trip to Croatia and fly to Russia for his last one-on-one talks with Putin before the Russian president's term ends in May.
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."
Seven years after saying he had peered into Putin's soul and trusted him, Bush - also in the twilight of his presidency - has hailed the meeting at a seaside compound in Sochi as their last chance for a "heart-to-heart."
No one expects any big breakthroughs but aides say the two leaders are likely to agree on a "strategic framework" for U.S.-Russia relations to bequeath to their successors.
Bush is out to salvage a foreign policy legacy dominated by the Iraq war, which has damaged U.S. credibility.
He is also struggling to stay relevant on the world stage now that his economic stewardship is under fire and attention is focused on whomever will succeed him in January 2009.
For his part, Putin is looking for a smooth transition of Russia's presidency to his protege, Dmitry Medvedev.
Bush will hold separate talks with Medvedez on Sunday and possibly have a chance to gauge how much power Putin, who will become prime minister, will continue to wield at the Kremlin.
SHARP DIFFERENCES REMAIN
Putin reaffirmed to NATO leaders in Bucharest that he remains fiercely opposed to NATO's ambitions for further eastward expansion on Russia's borders and to a planned U.S. missile defence shield based in parts of Eastern Europe.
