Presidents talk to school children

(15 Nov 2001) 1. Bush and Putin walk into high school auditorium 2. Cutaway of Laura Bush and Lyudmila Putin in audience 3. SOUNDBITE: (English) US President George W. Bush “We have a difference of opinion, but the great thing about our relationship is our relationship is strong enough to endure this difference of opinion, and that’s the positive development. We’ve found many areas in which we can cooperate, and we’ve found some areas where we disagree, but nevertheless, our disagreements will not divide us as nations combined to make, that need to combine to make the world more peaceful and more prosperous.“ 4. Cutaway of audience 5. SOUNDBITE: (Russian/English translation) Russian President Vladimir Putin “Our objective is a common, both for the United States and for Russia. Our objective is to achieve security for our states, for our nations, and for the entire world. We share the concerns of the President of the United States to the fact that we must think of the future threats. And here is a common ground for our further discussions. What we differ in is that we differ in the ways and means we perceive that are suitable for reaching the same objective.“ 6. Cutaway of Bush listening to Putin 7. SOUNDBITE: (Russian/English translation) Russian President Vladimir Putin “It gives me great pleasure to deal and to work with President Bush who is a person, a man, who does what he says.“ 8. Wide shot, Bush and Putin in front of high school auditorium 9. SOUNDBITE: (English) US President George W. Bush “A lot of people never really dreamt that an American president and a Russian president could have established the friendship that we have. We were enemies for a long time. When I was in high school, Russia was an enemy. Now the high school students can know Russia is a friend. That we’re working together to break the old ties, to establish a new spirit of cooperation and trust, so that we can work together to make the world more peaceful.“ 10. Wide shot of Bush speaking STORYLINE: US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to reach agreement to open the way for a US national missile defense as they ended three days of meetings on Thursday with warm praise for each other. Bush had hoped to win an agreement from Putin to abandon or modify the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, which prohibits national missile defenses. But there had been little expectation that the meetings in Washington and on Bush’s ranch would produce a breakthrough. Speaking in the gymnasium of a Crawford, Texas high school, Bush and Putin downplayed any disagreements, insisting the two sides share a common objective and discussions will continue. Russia had opposed any effort to dismantle the 1972 treaty, which it views as a centerpiece for world strategic stability. Bush has characterised the pact as a relic of the Cold War. Throughout the appearance, the two leaders praised the increasing cooperation between the US and Russia and underscored the growing friendship between Bush and Putin. Calling Putin at one point by his first name, Vladimir, Bush said the more he got to know the Russian leader, the more he saw his “heart and soul“, and knew they could work together in a positive way. Bush said in the three days of summits, he and Putin pledged to reduce nuclear weapons, to stand side-by-side in the war against terrorism, and to stop the spread of weapons. Bush said he and Putin also discussed at some length the need to establish an ethnically broad-based post-Taliban government in Afghanistan. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: