Moscow and Washington intend to continue their strategic partnership despite disagreements over Iraq, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks here with US counterpart George W. Bush. "Of course we are aware of the questions being raised as to whether relations between Russia and US will withstand the test of time," Putin said at a joint press conference following his first direct meeting with Bush since the war in Iraq. "We reiterated with President Bush that there is no alternative to our continued strategic partnership," said Putin. "Our relations are stronger than the events that tested it," said Putin. The informal summit between the two leaders lasted for just over an hour in Putin's native city amid its 300th anniversary celebrations. Putin said that "despite all the differences on Iraq, we were not only able to preserve our personal relations, but also to preserve and even strengthen our mutual cooperation," said Putin. "We tried to tread very carefully, and to cherish and preserve ... our personal contacts," said Putin, adding that he considered Bush a "professional." On the issue of Iran, the Russian premier said the positions of Moscow and Washington are "closer than they seem". "We do not need to be convinced of the fact that there should no proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," he said. "President Bush and I have a full understanding on this," he said. "This is exactly why we can call each other friends." On a more cautious note, however, Putin said the United States must not use Russia's nuclear cooperation with Iran as a pretext for pushing Russian companies operating in the country out of the lucrative market. "On Iran, we are against the pretext of using the nuclear weapons of program in Iran as a lever in unfair business competition against us," said Putin. "But we will continue working with all, including the United States, in order to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction everywhere, including Iran," said Putin. Putin and Bush also signed formal documents putting into effect a stragic arms reduction treaty that slashes the two sides' nuclear weapons to a range of 1,700 to 2,200 nuclear warheads by the year 2012. "This treaty also improves the regime of non-proliferation," said Putin. "This is all more appropriate in the fight against international terrorism," he said. "But now we must work on the implementation of that treaty." The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to the so-called "war on terror" in Afghanistan. "Our meeting with the US president came at a very important point, when there are very dangerous and complex developments," Putin said. Before the encounter, US officials had said that the meeting in the grand Konstantinovsky Palace was meant primarily as a trust-building exercise aimed at rebuilding ties of the two former allies in the global "war on terror." Bush arrived in Saint Petersburg on Saturday, when he also briefly met German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, whose opposition to the Iraq war had soured his relationship with the US president, at a dinner hosted by Putin. **PHOTO CAPTION*** George W. Bush, left, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, following the conclusion of their joint news conference at Konstantin Palace Sunday, June 1, 2003 in St. Petersburg, Russia. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)