Putin Optimistic on U.S.-Russian Ties Under Bush Administration

HAVANA — Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, visiting one of the U.S. government’s traditional archenemies, Cuba, said Friday that he was optimistic about future Washington-Moscow ties under President-elect George W. Bush.

“Currently we have no special grounds to worry about the fate of Russian-American relations,” Putin said on the second full day of his visit to the Communist-ruled Caribbean island.

Putin added, however, that Russia continued to have various “differences” with the United States, including issues of international security.

“Much will depend on the policy of the new administration,” he said. “The most important thing is that all the positive things we accumulated in recent years be preserved and increased. We have ground to hope that this . . . is possible.”

Putin said Bush’s staff is made up of “quite well-known professionals who know the situation deeply in the relations between the two states.”