Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia ? President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Russia was ready to put aside differences over the war in Iraq to work with the United States on rebuilding the country, even holding out the possibility of eventually sending troops. But he told reporters that the United Nations must have a real, not a decorative role.

In a four-hour interview with The Associated Press and other American media ahead of a summit this week with President Bush, Putin answered questions about Iraq, and Russia’s nuclear cooperation with Iran, among other subjects.

The Russian leader, who is attending the U.N. General Assembly session in New York that starts Tuesday, appeared optimistic about his talks with Bush at Camp David this week.

Putin opposed the war in Iraq and joined French and German efforts to prevent passage of a U.N. resolution Bush sought authorizing the use of force. He said Russia’s position hadn’t changed, and that “the situation that is developing in Iraq is the best confirmation that Russia was right.”

With the confidence of a man who feels vindicated, Putin set the stage for cooperation with the United States as well as bargaining with Bush, who wants a new U.N. resolution for a multinational force. The Russian president insisted that “the U.N. must have a real role, not a decorative role.”

“In contrast to many participants of this process, our approach is quite liberal,” Putin said. “Theoretically, we don’t exclude more active participation of Russia in the restoration of Iraq, including the participation of our military in the normalization process.”

However, Putin quickly added that “in practical terms, the question of sending Russian troops is not at the current time on the agenda — it is not even being considered.”

U.S. officials say Russia’s nuclear cooperation with Iran is on the agenda at Camp David. The United States believes Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons and that Russia’s work on the Bushehr nuclear plant could help Iran achieve that goal.

Russia slowly has moved closer to the U.S. view, and Putin said Saturday that there was no good reason Iran should not sign an agreement with the U.N. nuclear watchdog allowing unfettered inspections of the country’s nuclear sites.

“If Iran is not striving to develop nuclear weapons, it has nothing to hide. I see no grounds for refusing to sign these additional protocols,” Putin said. He said Russia was working to assure its cooperation does not let Iran develop anything other than a peaceful nuclear program.