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Putin called the meeting with Powell very timely and said it was “a good opportunity for us to set our watches before the meeting with President Bush in St. Petersburg at the end of May.”

Putin expressed the hope that the meeting with Bush would give a new boost to bilateral ties in all the different areas on which Russia and the United States cooperate.

Putin congratulated Powell on the ratification by both Russia and the United States of the bilateral treaty on reduction of strategic offensive nuclear arsenals.

Putin also expressed thanks to the U.S. State Department for its clear condemnation of the recent terrorist attack in Chechnya.