Putin, the first foreign leader to visit Bush's beloved "Prairie Chapel" ranch, arrived here amid heavy rain that drowned plans for a tour of the 650-hectare (1,600-acre) property.

But Bush and First Lady Laura Bush -- who have not been here since August -- went ahead with plans to entertain Putin and wife Lyudmila with a barbecue and a Country-and-Western concert on the property, US officials said.

Putin's visit came on the second of three days of talks that both leaders have said will not just help transform Russo-US ties, but deepen their warm personal relationship, which may pay dividends on strategic issues in the future.

"The best diplomacy starts with getting to know each other. And I want him to know my values and I want to know his values," Bush said on arriving in his home state of Texas late Tuesday.

Asked whether they would reach agreement on the ABM treaty that forbids the missile shield the US leader has vowed to deploy, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer replied: "Don't look for anything of that nature."

"This is one stop along the road, and there will be many other stops after Crawford," the flyspeck Texas town where the ranch is located, Fleischer said on the second of three days of talks.

The White House said earlier that they planned to sup on guacamole salad, mesquite-smoked peppered beef tenderloin, southern-fried catfish, fire-roasted potatoes with Poblano peppers, and wrap up with pecan pie and vanilla ice cream.

The US leader was to serve his guests a chardonnay and a cabernet from a Texas vineyard -- a tradition of sorts for the teetotaler president.

Amid the revelry, Bush and Putin were expected to discuss Iraq sanctions, arms proliferation, regional issues and efforts to help the Russian economy, as well as the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty that forbids the US leader's planned missile shield.

But "I would not anticipate an agreement tomorrow or Thursday," on the treaty, said a senior US official, who requested anonymity.

The US president has vowed to develop and deploy such a shield, and US officials have warned that aggressive testing efforts are likely to run afoul of the accord by year's end.

Putin has sought to preserve the US-Soviet pact, though he recently declared himself "very optimistic" that an accommodation could be reached enabling Washington to pursue its strategy.

A day earlier, both leaders agreed to cut their nuclear arsenals by two-thirds, but failed to bridge their rift on the missile shield Bush has vowed to deploy and Moscow has opposed.

"We will have an opportunity to continue the work on this, one of the very difficult issues, at the Crawford ranch," the Russian president said during a joint press conference at the White House on Tuesday.

The Russian leader has been told to dress "casual," said the official, possibly a sign that Bush may not just give him a tour of the property but may encourage him to indulge in his favorite ranch pastimes, which include clearing cedar and chopping wood.

"We're going to be riding John Deere Gators," a sort of souped-up golf cart, Bush said. "They're a little more compassionate than some horses."

But in a reminder that this is, after all, a summit, the two leaders will be shadowed by translators, even though "President Putin's English is clearly getting pretty good, pretty fast. And I think his understanding of it is improving really quickly," the official said.

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The pace of Washington and Moscow's new alignment could hasten more in 2002. AFP Photo

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