Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President George W Bush discussed arms control by telephone today, their first contact since Mr Bush announced Washington's intention to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty.
A Kremlin statement said Mr Bush initiated the call and that both presidents pressed for intensified dialogue, two days after the two sides agreed to hold talks on cutting their strategic nuclear arsenals.
The two heads of state spoke in favor of proceeding energetically with their dialogue both in the ealm of strategic stability and in the entire range of Russian-US relations, the Kremlin statement said.
It said dialogue was vital because of new agreements expected when Mr Bush visits Moscow next year. It also said Mr Putin stood by earlier comments that Russia had anticipated the US ABM move and that its security would not be affected.
White House spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer said the two leaders affirmed their agreement to move forward to codify a new strategic framework between the United States and Russia, including lowered numbers of nuclear weapons and greater transparency and mutual cooperation on defenses if possible.
Russia long opposed US proposals to scrap the 1972 ABM treaty on grounds that it was outmoded and preventing development of a missile shield Washington says is needed to counter launches by rogue states like Iran, Iraq and North Korea.
Both presidents have issued proposals to cut strategic arsenals - now standing at between 6,000 and 7,000 warheads each - to a figure between 1,500 and 2,200.