Robert Amsterdam

Some assorted photos from President George W. Bush's visit with President Vladimir Putin today.

From the New York Times:

When Bush and his wife, Laura, landed, they were greeted on a red carpet on the tarmac by Putin and his wife, Lyudmila. The Russian president presented Mrs. Bush with a bouquet of yellow, orange and red flowers and the foursome exchanged kisses.

Inside the marble-floored Vnukovo Airport terminal, the two couples took seats in ornate armchairs for photographers, a table nearby laid with lunch. The Bushes presented their hosts with a gift of a jumbo photograph of the four of them in one of the golf-cart sized electric cars that the Russians made available to leaders attending the Group of Eight summit Putin hosted in St. Petersburg in June.

The brief gathering was billed by White House advisers as not much more than a greeting between friends while Bush accepted the Russian generosity of allowing Air Force One to refuel in Moscow halfway through the 19-hour flight to Singapore. But the rarity of a president flying east to Asia, rather than west, no doubt reflected that the Washington-Moscow relationship needs a little extra care lately.