The missiles are considered a potential threat to civil aviation as well as to US forces in Iraq in the hands of extremist groups.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov disclosed the efforts to curb the proliferation of such weapons after meetings here with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Speaking through an interpreter, Ivanov said "an agreement on the exchange of information on MANPADS could well be in sight. And this agreement is due to be signed pretty soon."

MANPADS is the acronym for man-portable air defense systems.

He said a draft agreement has been hammered out in a few months "because it was in the best interests of both states to maximally constrain the movements globally of MANPADS."

He said they had discussed a newly compiled checklist for export controls in Russia that was "even more rigid, more stringent" than the export controls used by the United States and its allies.

Russia also has signed agreements with former Soviet republics regulating the movement of portable missiles they inherited after the break up of the Soviet Union.

Both Rumsfeld and Ivanov emphasized that the United States and Russia were cooperating closely against Islamic extremism and had a common interest in non-proliferation.

Rumsfeld noted the massacre of Russian schoolchildren last year in Beslan by gunmen linked to the war for independence in Chechnya, as well the beheadings in Iraq and election-related killings of women in Afghanistan.

"The United States and Russia share a continuing commitment to wage a global struggle against extremism," Rumsfeld said. "These are times of really great consequence for the entire civilized world."

Rumsfeld made no mention of any broader US concerns with the direction Russia is heading under President Vladimir Putin.

Asked about the most difficult issues between them, Rumsfeld said they were "really almost not cultural, but procedural," arising from the differences in the ways their respective governments were organized.

"We have more cooperation, more confidence and better transparency in the very sensitive areas of our collaboration," Ivanov said.

He said efforts to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction were "the most conflict-free, clear and transparent area of our cooperation."

As an example, he said Russia had accepted a US invitation to take part in an exercise with the US military in April on nuclear safety in the movement nuclear materials.

Later, after a roughly half-hour-long meeting with Bush, Ivanov told reporters at the White House that he and Rumsfeld had briefed Bush on the "understanding between the governments of the two countries to control the movements of MANPADS throughout the world."

Ivanov said that the discussion had set the stage for Bush's next meeting with Putin, scheduled for February 24 in the Slovak capital Bratislava.

He said they had discussed global "hotspots" such as Iran and Afghanistan; a joint commitment to battle terrorism; energy issues; and efforts to curb the spread of unconventional weapons.

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