World News 25-02-2005 Bush Takes Putin Down a Peg who: George W Bush what: Concludes European tour with joint press conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin where: Bratislava, Slovakia when: Thursday snippet: President George W Bush "subjected Russia`s Vladimir Putin to a public lecture on the fundamentals of democracy" on Thursday, says The Telegraph, as Mr Bush reached the end of a week-long tour of Europe. "Democracies have certain things in common - a rule of law and protection of minorities, and a free press and a viable political opposition," said Mr Bush at a joint press conference in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava. "I was able to share my concerns [with Mr Putin] about Russia`s commitment in fulfilling these universal principles." "Russia has made its choice in favour of democracy," Mr Putin responded, quoted in The Financial Times. "This is our final choice and there is no way back, there can be no return to what we used to have." BBC Washington correspondent Justin Webb says the meeting of the leaders left members of the press "scratching their heads" and despite the rhetoric he is doubtful that "any concrete progress was made" on "big issues" such as relations with Iran, North Korea and Chechnya, or the bankruptcy of collapsed Russian oil giant Yukos. There was a rumour going round the press room, he intimates, that Mr Putin turned to Mr Bush afterwards and said: "Did I say what you wanted?" Earlier in the week, Mr Bush met French president Jacques Chirac in Brussels on Monday, had breakfast with Tony Blair and met Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday and met chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Germany before glad-handing US troops stationed in Wiesbaden. Or, to put it another way, The Mirror says he began his tour by "threatening Syria and Iran". In a speech about transatlantic relations to EU leaders he said that Iran should end its support for terrorism and not develop nuclear (or is that "nucular"?) weapons. Mr Bush also said peace between Israel and the Palestinians was "our immediate goal". He and M Chirac then issued a joint statement demanding that Lebanon, which is occupied by 14,000 Syrian troops, must be "free from foreign domination". The Telegraph`s Mark Steyn says Mr Bush`s so-called charm offensive in Europe - this was widely billed as a conciliatory tour to mend the fences he broke by invading Iraq without the unanimous support of world leaders - was a cynical affair, because he has no intention whatsoever of changing his mind. "International relations are like ex-girlfriends," he muses, "if you`re still deluding yourself you can get her back, every encounter will perforce be fraught and turbulent; once you realise that`s never gonna happen, you can meet for a quick decaf latte every six (make that 10) months and do the whole hey-isn`t-it-terrific-the-way-we`re-able-to-be-such-great-friends routine because you couldn`t care less. You can even make a few pleasant noises about her new romance (the so-called European Constitution), secure in the knowledge he`s a total loser." [... more]

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