The White House denied Tuesday that a Republican member of Congress visiting Russia was carrying a personal message from US President George W. Bush to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The Russian media reported that Pennsylvania Republican Curt Weldon, heading an eight-member Congressional delegation visiting Moscow, brought a "verbal message" from Bush to Putin proposing joint research into anti-missile defence systems.
"The report is mistaken," a senior Bush administration official said. "The White House did not ask him (Weldon) to carry a message or a letter to President Putin."
The official who declined to named said Weldon had informed the National Security Council of his planned visit to Russia and the White House looked forward to hearing how the visit went.
Bush is currently on a tour of Ohio and other US states where he is to discuss his education proposals
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