From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 7/14/2006 2:01 PM
Bush thrusts democracy to fore before Putin talks
By Douglas Busvine and Steve Holland
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush put democracy centre-stage ahead of a big-power summit, telling beleaguered Russian rights activists on Friday he would relay their concerns to President Vladimir Putin.
But he signalled he would not jeopardise talks with Putin or the Group of Eight summit the Kremlin leader is hosting by clashing openly with him, saying he would instead raise his worries over an erosion of democracy in Russia privately.
U.S. President George W. Bush hugs Russian President Vladimir Putin before a social dinner on the grounds of the Konstantinovsky Palace in Stralna, Russia, July 14, 2006. (REUTERS/Jason Reed)
"I spent a lot of time listening to their concerns," Bush said after meeting the heads of some dozen Russian charities and pressure groups. Many of them were vocal critics of the Kremlin who say it has been rolling back democratic freedoms and human rights and has curbed the activities of their groups.
"I explained to them my strategy of dealing with Vladimir Putin, who is my friend," Bush said. "Some asked me to deliver messages, which I will be more than happy to do."
Bush flew from Germany to St Petersburg for the annual summit of the G8 rich nations, being held this year in the lavishly restored Constantine Palace on the Gulf of Finland outside Putin's home town of St Petersburg.
Putin, six years in power and due to bow out in 2008, wants to showcase Russia's recovery from its financial crash of 1998 and its transition to an energy superpower.
Bush was to hold talks with Putin on Saturday before the start of the three-day summit -- also grouping the leaders of Britain, Japan, Germany, Italy, France and Canada -- that will focus on world energy supplies and other global problems.
In a communique to be issued on Monday, the G8 leaders were also to pronounce on the nuclear plans of Iran and North Korea and on the Middle East, where Israel has been pounding southern Lebanon after Hizbollah fighters captured two of its soldiers.
On the eve of the summit, Russia and the United States pressed on with marathon talks aimed at reaching agreement in time on Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation.
A WTO deal would kick-start the summit and could lead to wider discussion there of the stalled Doha trade round, but both sides said there was still work to do.
"It's very important for Russia, provided the price of the entry ticket is right. It's all about price, it's all about commitments, it's all about the long-term implications for the Russian economy," Andrei Kondakov, Russia's pointman on foreign policy at the summit, said.
PERSONAL BOND
Bush and Putin established a close personal bond in 2001 when the Kremlin leader rallied quickly to Washington's call for a war on terror.
The two leaders greeted each other warmly in the grounds of their residences after both arrived by electric cart for a private dinner. "Vlad, how are you?" Bush said to Putin.
"Has your friendship grown?" a reporter asked. "Solid friendship," Bush replied.
But democracy was the keynote of the day after Bush underscored Western concerns over Putin's record on democracy by holding round-table discussions with 15 activists.
Several of the groups have been under pressure from Russian authorities as part of what they see as proof that Putin's Russia is not fit to be a G8 member.
Campaigner Tatyana Lokshina said she had handed Bush a photograph of the corpses of five small children killed two years ago when a Russian aircraft bombed their house in rebel Chechnya.
"It is a very graphic image," she said. "Bush took it, he looked at it, nodded his head in sympathy and said: 'That's terrible.'"
But Bush made clear he would not risk spoiling Putin's party by issuing any public rebukes.
"The foreign policy of my administration is that we will work with Russia to solve common problems and at the same time be in a position where you can have private exchange of ideas," he said.
Russian opposition activists who had hoped to protest at the G8 said police had used arbitrary arrests and intimidation to sabotage their plans for an "anti-summit".
Authorities set aside a sports stadium in St Petersburg for a gathering organisers hoped would repeat the huge demonstrations at past summits. But only 300 people had turned up, a quarter the number organisers expected.
"The authorities have worked very hard to make sure that this (anti-summit) was a failure," said one rights campaigner, Lyudmila Alexeyeva.
"(We have seen) warnings, people being pulled off trains, arrests en route. We've had more than 200 reports of delegates being detained on the way here," said another, Lev Ponomarev.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/7/15/worldupdates/2006-07-14T233118Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-259614-1&sec=Worldupdates
