U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to tie U.S. plans for building a missile defence shield to talks on reducing nuclear stockpiles.

"The two go hand in hand," Bush said at a news conference after a meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in Genoa, Italy, on Sunday. Bush also said he wanted a new accord to replace the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. Bush described himself and his Russian counterpart as "young leaders who are interested in forging a more peaceful world." Putin said the linkage was "unexpected," and cautioned that neither country was ready to discuss details. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, will travel to Moscow to begin developing a framework for discussions. Soon after he became president, Bush directed the Pentagon to consider further cuts in nuclear stockpiles, and has suggested he would be willing to go ahead with reductions with out without comparable cuts by Russia. The United States has about 7,000 strategic nuclear weapons. Under the START II agreement with Russia, that number will fall to between 3,000 and 3,500.