Further Signs Of Russia Conciliation In Missile Talks

MOSCOW — In the wake of high-level talks between the United States and Russia, the Kremlin appears to be expressing somewhat less hostility toward the Bush administration’s plan for a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

In an interview published on Thursday, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said the American side had presented proposals that could assuage some of Russia’s concerns. The proposals were offered during a visit this week to Moscow by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

The exact details of the proposals have not been disclosed by either side. President Vladimir V. Putin said at the talks that a letter from President Bush that contained the proposals was “a very serious document,” and Mr. Putin seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone than he has at earlier such meetings.

Still, the two countries are not close to reaching an agreement on the missile system, and the White House has made clear that it will press ahead no matter what.

In the interview, published in Izvestia, a Russian newspaper, Mr. Lavrov said the Americans had promised that the Russians would be able to monitor the facilities in Eastern Europe.

“The American side is prepared to offer us a whole series of confidence-building measures so we can be convinced that the system does not work against us,” Mr. Lavrov said. “The idea of these measures boils down to the following: we will have an opportunity to watch what the radar is doing and what the real condition is of the base for interceptor missiles, using both human and technical means.”

The Bush administration wants to put tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland, both of which are intended to be used against missile attacks from Iran. Mr. Putin has voiced strong opposition to the plan, saying that it could threaten Russia. It also seems that the Kremlin is angered that such facilities will be located in former Soviet satellites that are now part of NATO.

The White House has repeatedly emphasized that the system is not intended to be used against Russia, but the Kremlin has not relented.

On Thursday, Ms. Rice and Mr. Gates told Mr. Bush that their meetings in Moscow had been “good and constructive,” said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman.

In an interview on Wednesday with Radio Farda, an American-financed Persian-language station, Mr. Bush said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the negotiations with Russia.

“I don’t know whether we can find common ground,” he said. “But we are trying to find common ground, and that’s what’s — that’s the first step, is to make the attempt.”

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