SOCHI (RUSSIA), APRIL 6: Meeting for the last time as heads of government, President George W Bush and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia failed to resolve their differences over missile defenses in Europe, but declared that the US and Russia would seek to cooperate on that and a variety of other security and economic issues.

The two agreed to a joint statement on Sunday on missile defences that US officials had suggested was unlikely on Saturday. But the statement, part of a larger “strategic framework,” largely restated well-established positions. Russia, for example, said it remained opposed to US plans to build parts of a national missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic. “Our fundamental attitude to the American plans has not changed,” said Putin, appearing with Bush at his presidential retreat here on the Black Sea.

But the two leaders strived in their farewell meeting to avoid public disagreements, and largely succeeded.

They pledged to work closely together, and Bush said he would do so with the incoming Russian president, Putin’s protégé, Dmitri Medvedev. Bush and Putin praised each other for a frank, respectful personal friendship that has often appeared to contrast with the steady deterioration of relations between the US and Russia since 2001.

“I’ve always appreciated his honesty and openness, his willingness to listen to his partner, and this is precious,” Putin said, painting a portrait of Bush that is rare in Russia’s state-controlled news media or in its political discourse.

Bush, for his part, described the agreement they signed as a breakthrough that would lay a foundation for US-Russian relations for Medvedev, who assumes office in May, and for Bush’s own successor, who will become president in nine months. “We spent of a lot of time in our relationship to get rid of the Cold War,” Bush said. “It’s over.”

On the issue of missile defence, Russia did signal in the joint statement that while it remained opposed to the system’s being installed in Europe, it was willing to consider cooperating with the US and NATO on a global system of missile defence, something the Russian leader called “the best guarantee of security of all.”

The Russians also welcomed proposals—presented in Moscow last month by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defence Robert M. Gate—to provide more transparency abut the sites planned in Eastern Europe. “If they believe the system is aimed at them,” Bush said, “then obviously they’re going to do something about it.”

Bush dismissed a question about whether the agreement reached on Sunday simply passed the dispute to his successor, perhaps one who would not pursue the missile defence system as aggressively as he has. “You can cynically say it’s kicking the can down the road,” he said. “I don’t appreciate that.”

Bush met separately with Medvedev, who was elected the third Russian president in March in a vote that few outside of Russia considered fair or free. Bush, who after first meeting Putin famously described looking into his eyes and getting a sense of his soul, described his first impressions of the new leader in a less mystical way, calling him “a smart fellow.”