Rice, Putin hold tense talks in Moscow

The meeting at a presidential residence outside Moscow came amid an escalation of tensions, with Russian newspapers warning of deep-seated differences in the US-Russian relationship.

Earlier Rice -- who made highly critical comments on the eve of her visit about the state of democracy in Russia -- met civil society leaders but avoided controversy by not meeting with human rights organisations critical of Putin's rule.

Russia has bridled at what it sees as American interference, not only in the area of democracy but also US plans to extend missile defences to central Europe, as well as Washington's backing for a UN plan for Kosovo's independence and possible enlargement of the NATO military alliance.

At a US embassy meeting Rice told the five civil society leaders, who represented business, the media, aid and politics, that Washington had no intention of interfering in Russian politics, said one of those present.

"From what I see, the name of the game is damage limitation. Her message was the United States is here to assist and the United States is not in the business of a new Cold War with Russia," said Andrei Kortunov, from US-funded development group the New Eurasia Foundation.

The absence of human rights activists, who have had the chance to air their views on previous high-level American visits, prompted a dismissive response from Svetlana Gannushkina of the respected rights organisation Memorial.