BY PATRICK E. TYLER
New York Times Service

HAVANA -- After two difficult days of talks about old debts and dashed dreams with Fidel Castro, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he did not travel to this former bastion of the Cold War to recreate a ``union'' with Cuba against the United States, but rather to clean up the economic ``mess'' left over from the Soviet era.

Speaking at a press conference that was not attended by the Cuban leader, Putin indicated in several ways that Russia's relations with the United States, though difficult at times, are important to Moscow. Still, he said that Moscow would not hesitate to express opposing views on arms control issues, on questions of international security and -- a new theme of his on this trip -- on how to narrow the gap between the ``golden billion'' and the world's poorest nations.

Responding to a question on whether his visit here amounted to reestablishing an alliance between Moscow and Havana, Putin said: ``Unfortunately, you have been looking at the wrong kind of information. We have no union with Cuba against third countries, including the United States if you were talking about that country.

``Yes, we have differences on some questions with the United States and they are well known,'' he continued, but he said that these were ``items of discussion and no more than that.''

In stressing this point, Putin disclosed Friday that he had authorized his foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, to sign an agreement with the outgoing Clinton administration calling for advance notification of rocket launches to further promote transparency among the extensive nuclear forces of the United States and Russia. Putin said he ``deeply'' hoped the pact would be concluded soon.

Putin's remarks Friday appeared to be an effort to put his visit to Cuba in the unthreatening context that Moscow is merely trying to recover lost markets and multimillion-dollar Soviet-era investments, rather than foment a new image of rivalry.