Post-Cold War chill hangs over Bush-Putin summit

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Six years ago, U.S. President George W. Bush said he gazed into Russian President Vladimir Putin's soul. Now he just wants to see if they can get along.

With U.S.-Russia relations at their lowest point in years, stirring memories of the Cold War, Bush hopes to ease tensions when the two leaders hold informal talks on Sunday and Monday at the Bush family estate in Kennebunkport, Maine.

But even if Bush and Putin can rekindle the personal chemistry for which they were once dubbed the "George and Vladimir Show", expectations are low for making much progress on the disputes that divide Washington and Moscow.

"You'll see lobster rolls and handshakes," said Sarah Mendelson, an analyst at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies. "But it won't do a lot to shift what is a generally bleak relationship between the two countries."

Strains have grown in recent months amid Russia's bitter opposition to a planned U.S. anti-missile shield in Eastern Europe, disagreement over statehood for Kosovo and U.S. criticism over what is seen as Putin's rollback of democracy.

The invitation to Kennebunkport, the first time Bush will host a foreign leader there, seems to reflect growing U.S. alarm at the uneasy state of relations.

What complicates matters is that the two leaders face starkly different situations at home and abroad.

Bush is trying to salvage his final 19 months in office, confronted by growing opposition to his Iraq policy and approval ratings around 30 percent, the low of his presidency. His room to maneuver is limited by the war, which has stretched the United States diplomatically and militarily.