President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have put together a positive agreement to reduce the nuclear stockpiles of their two nations.

During the next decade, the United States will reduce its arsenal of strategic nuclear warheads from an inventory of about 7,000 to between 1,700 and 2,000. Though this is a significant reduction of armaments - a nearly two-thirds reduction - the United States will still have more than enough nuclear capability to effectively destroy any threats to our security.

But the implications of this agreement are where the real merit lies. It’s a wonderful thing to see our two governments working together to end the atmosphere that has lingered from the Cold War era. During the summit, Bush promised his administration would work to remove legislation on Russia restricting trade.

These steps toward improved U.S.-Russian relations will, with any luck, hasten a new and improved relationship with little mistrust between the two nations.

We applaud their efforts to dismantle the remnants of the Cold War.

The missile defense shield Bush promised during his campaign was another topic of debate between the two leaders.

While the two leaders still hold differing viewpoints on the measure, the Bush administration announced a commendable delay in some missile defense testing, citing a desire to prevent any indications that the United States planned to violate the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty negotiated with the Soviet Union in 1972.

The goal of building a missile defense shield, especially in the wake of this agreement to reduce the number of available warheads in the country’s nuclear arsenal, is a self-defeating one, which thumbs the United States’ nose at the rest of the world.

If the Bush administration intends to go forward with this plan, it is vital it does so carefully and with the support of the rest of the world’s leaders. Breaking a treaty such as the ABM Treaty on a whim is not a good way to keep friends.

But this conference has produced a number of positive results. Bush should be commended for pushing it forward, and to push Russia along with it.

We hope it will be the start of a more progressive relationship with our Russian counterparts.