Putin was responding to a question on the US-led invasion of Iraq in an exclusive interview with the New Straits Times ahead of a planned visit to Malaysia, a mainly Muslim Southeast Asian nation.
The trip, which was to have begun today, was postponed after suicide bombers killed 13 people at a weekend Moscow rock concert.
Putin stressed in the interview, held in Moscow, that Russia wanted to see international organisations such as the United Nations strengthened to deal with "peacekeeping and upholding international law".
The Russian president, who opposed the US invasion of Iraq, said, however: "We are satisfied with the pace of our dialogue with our partners, including the US.
"We managed to reach an agreement on the recent (post-war) UN resolution on Iraq. And we believe that the role of the UN in settling the situation in Iraq should move to a higher level".
Asked what role Russia could play to counter the dominant role of the US in the world, Putin pointed out that "Russia and the US today are the most powerful nuclear powers in the world.
"I would like to stress that in this particular context, and in the provision of global stability, the roles of Russia and the US are important".
"We have a positive relation within the framework of the anti-terrorist coalition. We are cooperating on the economic front.
On many issues our dialogue is not as simple as that and we have different approaches to different problems.
"But as a rule we manage to hammer out mutually acceptable solutions.
The only exception to this is Iraq." Putin said Russia and the US were united by fundamental issues such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and "the construction of a just world, including in the economic area".
Asked about Russia's role in the fight against terrorism and a possible "clash of civilisations", Putin replied: "I believe that the slogan 'clash of civilisations' is a dangerous one.
"We are human beings and only after that are we of different religions, congregations, races, etc. If we look around at every one of us, there is more that unites us than divides us".
In an acknowledgement of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's constant refrain on the terrorism issue, Putin agreed that there was a need to "realise the roots" of terrorism.
He named these "roots" as poverty, inequality and "unsettled conflicts in which the conflicting parties cannot make the necessary compromises" - an apparent reference to the Middle East.
During his visit to Malaysia, for which no new date has been set, Putin was to hold talks with Mahathir and sign three agreements, one of which is to supply 18 Sukhoi fighter jets in a deal estimated at $900-million. - Sapa-AFP.
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