Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin, affirmed his strong support today for the United States in its war against terrorism, but said the world needed a clear legal mechanism to fight terror groups.
In a wide-ranging address to business leaders on the fringes of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Mr Putin also said Russian reforms were bringing greater growth and a more open economy.
Mr Putin will get a chance to tell US President, Mr George W. Bush, directly of his support when the two leaders meet on Sunday.
"We have declared our outright support for the United States. If you want to know whether our position has changed, no it has not," he said in a speech punctuated by jokes and showing the confidence of a leader whose national economy is one of the few in the Asia-Pacific region still expanding.
His remarks came after a week in which Russia made friendly gestures to the United States in closing a spying centre in Cuba and confirming its return of a naval base to Vietnam.
Mr Putin said today the fight against terrorism would be helped by having legal mechanisms to say what counts as a terrorist act, and that it should be multi-faceted and long-term.
As for Russia, Mr Putin said tax cuts and investment-boosting laws were paying off in faster ecomic growth. He saw gross domestic product (GDP) rising up to 5.8 per cent this year and Russia exporting grain for the first time in decades.