MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin welcomed Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev to the Kremlin on Monday, pledging to help bolster economic and other ties between the two former Soviet republics.

"Our relations with Kyrgyzstan have been developing quite successfully on a good political level," Putin told Akayev at the start of the two leaders' talks. "Still, there are some opportunities in the economic sphere that we have not exhausted."

Putin also singled out bilateral cooperation in the military-technical sphere, particularly Russia's assistance in upgrading hardware used by Kyrgyzstan's border guards.

In their brief opening remarks, neither leader addressed the issue of Kyrgyzstan's participation in the U.S.-led anti-terror campaign in Afghanistan. Along with Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan has provided territory for U.S. and other coalition forces.

Putin has welcomed the U.S. military deployment in Central Asia for the anti-terror campaign, but some Russian officials have expressed concern that the United States would seize the opportunity to establish a permanent military presence in the region, which Russia considers its sphere of influence.

In an interview published Monday in The Wall Street Journal, Putin dismissed such fears, saying that Russia and the United States are partners, not rivals.

"If we view the United States as an enemy even within the anti-terrorist coalition, we would have to behave differently," he said. "But if we believe that we can be partners and, in the more distant future, even allies, then our behavior ... should not be doubted or obstructed."