White House officials say they do not expect U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach an agreement this weekend on a missile defense system that the U.S. wants to place in Central Europe.  VOA's Kent Klein reports from Washington

US President George Bush (left) walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at his summer residence in Sochi, Russia, 5 Apr 2008

The proposed missile defense system would be placed in Poland and the Czech Republic.  The U.S. says it is intended to protect Europe from missiles that Iran is developing.  Russia strongly opposes the plan and has said it is a threat to its security. 

Mr. Bush arrived in Sochi from Croatia, where he stopped after this week's NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania.

In his weekly radio address Saturday, the President saluted the progress Croatia has made in the past ten years, which has allowed it to receive an invitation to join NATO.

President George W. Bush greets the crowd at Zagreb's St. Mark square, Croatia, 05 Apr 2008

NATO leaders invited Croatia and Albania to begin talks toward alliance membership.  President Bush said he regrets that Macedonia did not get an invitation, because of a dispute with Greece over the country's name. 

Ukraine and Georgia, despite U.S. lobbying for them, also failed to win an invitation.

Here in Washington, Delaware Senator Joe Biden gave the Democrats' weekly radio address.  Biden concentrated on the war in Iraq, where he says the U.S. military, despite its best efforts, is only "treading water."

Senator Joe Biden, 20 Feb 2008 (file photo)

Biden acknowledged that violence in Iraq has decreased, but he said the government in Baghdad has made little political progress, and that there's little evidence that Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds will settle their differences peacefully any time soon.