Blair, who on Thursday arrived with his wife Cherie at the Russian president's hunting lodge outside Moscow, had hoped to gain Moscow's support for a tough U.S.-drafted proposal on Iraq. Putin has been reluctant to back Washington against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and said he had no proof of Baghdad's alleged arsenal of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. "(Russia) has not received persuasive proof from its partners of such weapons in Iraq. This thesis is confirmed by information sent by the CIA to (the U.S.) Congress," Putin told a joint news conference after extended talks. Putin said Russia would consider a new proposal, however, if it was necessary to aid inspectors, absent from Iraq since 1998. "Russia's position has always been that no new resolution is necessary, but we need to take account of the negative experience of the work of U.N. inspectors," Putin said. British officials rejected suggestions that the visiting delegation had failed to sway the Kremlin, emphasizing instead success on the issue of U.N. weapons inspectors. Blair, who has actively supported U.S. calls for coordinated military efforts against Saddam's Iraq, said the two sides had agreed on the need to return monitors as fast as possible. "There may be different perspectives about how sure we can be about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction," Blair said. "The stronger and clearer the signal the international community gives...the less likely conflict will be." Britain last month issued a dossier which it said proved Iraq held chemical and biological weapons and was willing to use them. Russia's opposition to U.S.-led strikes on Iraq has been widely linked in part to efforts to recover billions of dollars in debts run up by Iraq during the Soviet era. Last month Iraq said Russian firms had won deals worth $40 billion on scores of long-term oil and infrastructure projects. But Putin said Russia had not set a price on cooperation. "I would plead with you not to perceive our meeting as a bargaining place. I have not invited them (the Blairs) to an Oriental bazaar," he said. Blair said he would not avoid raising human rights concerns about Russian action in rebel Chechnya, but said the world must realise Russia was under attack from extremist rebels there. (Reuters)