Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he meets U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Moscow Kremlin, Monday, March 17, 2008. Putin said Monday his nation is ready to agree on some issues dividing Washington and Moscow, disclosing that he had received a letter from President Bush ahead of high-level meetings on a range of touchy matters, including missile defense.(AP Photo/Sergei Ilnitsky, Pool)

(Sergei Ilnitsky – AP)

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks to reporters aboard his plane enroute to Moscow Sunday, March 16, 2008. Gates and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet their Russian counterparts March 17 and 18 to discuss missile defense, non-proliferation and counterterrorism. (AP Photo/Kevin Lamarque, POOL)

(Kevin Lamarque – AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in the Moscow Kremlin, Monday, March 17, 2008. Medvedev on Monday predicted intense negotiations on U.S. missile defense plans, saying Moscow still has some questions and differences with the Bush administration. (AP Photo/Sergei Ilnitsky, Pool)

(Sergei Ilnitsky – AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Moscow Kremlin, Monday, March 17, 2008. Putin said Monday he had received a letter from President Bush that lays out U.S. missile defense provisions and the two sides can probably reach agreement. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Presidential Press Service, Vladimir Rodionov)

(Vladimir Rodionov – AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin looks during a Security Council meeting in his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, on Saturday, March 15, 2008. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates plan to visit Russia next week and to meet separately with outgoing President Putin and his hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, on a U.S. missile defense program for Eastern Europe. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Presidential Press Service, Mikhail Klimentyev)

(Mikhail Klimentyev – AP)