11.   In the absence of a formal treaty, the two countries have granted route rights to the other.

12.   It was just for that reason that Putin insisted on a formal treaty, rather than what Bush first proposed, an informal agreement between two presidents.

13.   It is not a formal treaty like the one signed there.

14.   It was just for that reason that Putin insisted on a formal treaty, rather than what Bush first proposed, a informal agreement between two presidents.

15.   Last November, at his Texas summit with Putin, he proposed that deals could be sealed with handshakes, rather than a formal treaty.

16.   Russia seeks a formal treaty.

17.   Such guarantees would represent a significant deepening of the informal understanding now in place, but they would stop short of a formal treaty, that official said.

18.   That makes France the only European country without a formal treaty with the U.S.

19.   A formal treaty with the Philippines is also close.

20.   A formal treaty also could settle some important unanswered questions, such as whether the warheads removed from missiles will be destroyed or stored for potential use later.