Putin has to walk a bit of a tightrope to silence the dwindling old-line commies in his country. Note that his "opposition" to the ABM/NMD thing quickly morphed into quiet acceptance. When all is said and done, Russia and the US will end up jointly developing and deploying the system, because both countries need it. When my neighbor and me are both at risk of burglars and home invaders, the last thing that concerns us is maintaining a ten-foot high fence between our two homes.
Putin is faced with realpolitik considerations that require him to "demand" that the US include them in the plan, so that he can show that he negotiated it out of us as a concession. Unfortunately, he can't come out and say the obvious -- that the ABM treaty is meaningless, and that Russia needs NMD as much as the US does. So, he and Bush (and their close circles of advisors) worked out the plan, and now Putin plays for his constituency.
I am convinced that Putin, Bush, Blair, Fox and a few others are the new young leaders working toward the same goals. They each have to sell those themes in their countries. Some of those themes are contrary to my beliefs but I think this is the future of globalism.
As for the bickering in this thread, let me say to both sides, the Cold War is over. Russia and the United States should be great allies. We beat the Nazis together and our futures are intertwined. We are team-mates now and it will take the both of us along with India, South Korea, and Japan to keep the Chinese in the box.