MOSCOW, April 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that he regards his American counterpart George W. Bush as a reliable and predictable partner though sometimes they disagree with each other, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

    "I have developed very good personal relations with President Bush. He can take some decisions which I regard as disputable, but he is a consistent and predictable partner," Putin said in an interview with Egyptian reporters before his tour to the Middle East.

    Referring to a high level of interaction with the United States,the Russian president said "A various approach to tackling some or other international problems does not mean that we have no contacts or even common positions on other no less important questions on the present-day agenda of both international character as well as in bilateral relations."

    Recalling his support for Bush during the US presidential elections in Nov. 2004, Putin explained it by his desire to continue cooperation with Washington from the previous high level rather than from scratch.

    The president noted that Russia "had no desire to start again from the center of the field with such an important for us partneras the US. Why to do this if we have developed definite relations,and cooperation between the US and Russia has reached a very high level?"

    "I don't think after all, that my stand influenced somehow the decision of American people," the Russian leader said.

    "Americans are not very interested in an opinion from abroad, and this is correct: this should be the case with any other country, including, I believe, with Russia," Putin added. Enditem