ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) - Trust me, Mr. President.
That's what President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin kept telling each other on the sidelines of their nuclear reduction summit.
Bush and his wife, Laura, had a late-night dinner and spent Friday night at Putin's residence outside Moscow, a gathering that both leaders said led to serious talks - and some laughs.
As caviar was being served, Putin told Bush and the U.S. delegation that the delicacy was cut out of live fish, then the fish were stitched closed and thrown back into the water.
Recalling the scene a day later, Putin said Bush played along as other guests laughed. ``I do believe you, Mr. President,'' Putin quoted Bush as saying.
The Russian president related the story while he and Bush toured the Hermitage Museum on Saturday.
Putin also learned to trust Bush. After a dinner that lasted until nearly midnight, Bush said he planned to run in the morning even though he had to get up early for the trip to St. Petersburg.
Putin said he was skeptical, but Bush got up for an early run.
``I didn't believe him, but he was doing just that,'' Putin said.
In a somber start to their day, Bush and Putin recalled the grim days of World War II as they visited the Piskarevskoye cemetery, site of the mass graves of some 600,00 people who died during the 900-day Nazi siege of the city then called Leningrad.
To the strains of funereal music over loudspeakers on the cool, clear day, the presidents walked past several grass berms, each stretching more than 100 feet, the resting places of the victims. At the Monument to the Motherland, Bush and Putin helped lay a wreath of yellow and red roses. After a moment of silence, the military orchestra played both nations' anthems.
The memorial, which opened in 1960, commemorates the siege that began in 1941 and was broken by Soviet forces in 1944. Many of the 600,000 died of starvation as Nazis blockaded the town.
There wasn't enough time for Bush to see more than fraction of the 3 million objects at the Hermitage art museum. But there was time for him to show off some knowledge of Russian history.
Walking arm-in-arm with first lady and accompanied by the Putins, the president viewed several Rembrandts.
As they were running out of time, Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky insisted on showing the Bushes a portrait of Empress Catherine the Great, Putin recalled later, speaking at the university.
``And Mr. Bush, without missing a beat, said, `Oh and by the way, where's the portrait of Potemkin?'''
Gregory Potemkin was one of Catherine's lovers.
``When you ask questions,'' Putin told students, ``I ask you to give me the easy questions and give Mr. Bush the tough questions.''
The Putins and the Bushes got more culture later, attending a gothic performance of ``The Nutcracker'' ballet at the Mariinskiy Theater, the same theater where the famous ballet was first performed in 1892 in the hometown of its composer, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The two presidents sat together in a box once reserved for the czars at the back of the ornate theater. An animated Putin pointed out sights to Mrs. Bush, who was seated next to him, while Bush engaged Mrs. Putin in conversation.
Tchaikovsky wrote the ballet specifically to be performed in the theater.