MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush might sign some non-binding document reflecting the current condition of Russian-American relations at an upcoming meeting in Sochi, Russian Foreign and Defense Council Chairman Sergei Karaganov said.

"I do not rule out that Bush, who needs to leave behind at least something positive in Russian-American relations and who is currently facing serious problems in continuing the missile defense program, might agree to sign some quasi-binding paper. It is possible that there will be some talk about it in Sochi," Karaganov told Interfax on Thursday.

"Although this document would reflect significant differences, it will not tie Russia's hands," Karaganov said.

"The Americans will have the opportunity to proceed with building a missile defense system in Europe, although possibly with some restrictions," Karaganov said.

Despite the U.S. determination to go ahead with deploying missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic, "Russia has won this discussion in political terms," Karaganov said.

"We have won because it has become clear to everybody that the Americans are deploying their missile defense system not against Iran but against Europe - in order to split it," Karaganov said. "If it were necessary to defend against Iran, missile defense elements should be deployed in Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey, and also Russian early warning stations should be used, just as we proposed," he said.

"However, the American missile shield is aimed at cementing the EU split into two zones - an American and an Old European ones," he said.

Another purpose for deploying missile defense sites in East Europe is "to implant a permanently irritating military element in the center of Europe and so militarize relations between Russia and Europe so as not to let them converge," he said.

"Finally, the third purpose for deploying missile defense elements in East Europe is to provide conditions to get more funding for missile defense systems, which is absolutely inefficient, and everybody perfectly understands this," Karaganov said. "To continue the financing of the missile defense program, you need to make waves around it all the time," he said.

"The deployment of the first phase of the U.S. missile defense system in Alaska failed to provide political conditions for financing. Everybody immediately forgot about that senseless and needless system," he said.