(Initially published in www.romania-report.ro - May 8, 2005)
MOSCOW, May 8 - Despite contentions over Moscow's commitment to democracy, President Bush thanked Russia's Vladimir Putin on Sunday for help on Iran and the Middle East and said "there's a lot we can do together."
During a brief photo opportunity before their talks, the two leaders exchanged pleasantries as they sat alongside each other in front of an unlit, ornate fireplace.
Putin said Bush's visit was "of special importance" and he spoke of "a very large volume of cooperation between our countries."
Bush said he looked forward to Monday's celebration in Red Square of the 60th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat, saying it will help the world "recognize the great bravery and sacrifice the Russian people made in the defeat of Nazism."
"The people of Russia suffered incredible hardship and yet the Russian spirit never died down," Bush said.
Earlier Sunday, Bush celebrated the end of World War II 60 years ago at an American cemetery in Margraten in the Netherlands, emphasizing the themes of democracy and freedom. "The world's tyrants learned a lesson: There is no power like the power of freedom and no soldier as strong as a soldier who fights for that freedom," Bush told a crowd of thousands, including many white-haired war veterans who wore plastic rain ponchos on a raw spring morning.
"On this day we celebrate the victory they won," Bush said, "and we recommit ourselves to the great truth that they defended: that freedom is the birthright of all mankind."
Relations between Bush and Putin have soured of late amid U.S. unhappiness with Russian missile sales to Syria and crackdowns on business and Moscow's complaints of American meddling in its traditional sphere of influence.
Even before Bush arrived in Moscow, Putin appeared increasingly irritated at Bush's criticism of Russia's treatment of its former republics and the president's push for democracy along Russia's borders.
Bush said at an earlier stop in Latvia that Russia should acknowledge the Soviet Union's domination of Central and Eastern Europe and its harsh occupation of the Baltic country.
"This is not an issue of lecturing Russia," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters on Air Force One. "It is that the United States and Russia have a deep and broad relationship. We'd like it to get deeper and broader. And the issue of common values and how Russia's democracy progresses is one of the issues on the agenda, an important issue on the agenda." Rice took issue with Putin's assertion last month that the collapse of the Soviet Union was "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century."
"I'm not going to try to second guess President Putin on this," Rice said. "I do know it was traumatic for many people to see the Soviet Union collapse. That's not surprising. Quite clearly the fall of the Soviet Union has led to some very good things including democracies throughout Eastern Europe and Central Europe and free Baltic states."
The United States has expressed repeated concern that Putin is quashing dissent and consolidating power. Putin said in an American television interview that the United States should question its own democratic ways before looking for problems with Russia's.
Putin also told CBS' "60 Minutes" that the United States shouldn't try to export its democracy, as it is trying to do in Iraq. The Russian leader pointed to what he believes are drawbacks to America's own brand of democracy, including the Electoral College system.
The Russian leader also has rebuffed calls from Bush and others for an apology for the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Bush on Monday will join Putin and dozens of world leaders at a Red Square parade celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Bush has no scheduled public remarks during his 24-hour stay in Moscow.
Moscow has not disguised its unhappiness that Bush's four-nation trip was planned to bracket his stop in Russia with visits to two former Soviet republics, Latvia and Georgia.
A day before arriving in Moscow, Bush said in a speech that Putin should not fear the growth of democracy around Russia's borders and that "no good purpose is served by stirring up fears and exploiting old rivalries in this region."
Rice said Bush and Putin intended to cover a range of issues like Iran, Iraq, the broader Middle East and economic issues such as Russia's hopes of joining the World Trade Organization. She said the United States has been encouraging Russia to sign border treaties with its former republics in the Baltics, without success. "The future of Baltic and Russian relations should not be one of tension," Rice said. "And I think that's the message that the president will deliver." She acknowledged that the history has been "an unhappy and tragic one."
AP
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