Bush slams Russia on democracy

BRUSSELS, Belgium — President Bush warned Russia on Monday that it "must renew a commitment to democracy and the rule of law," but said he believed that the nation's future lay "within the family of Europe and the trans-Atlantic community."

Bush's comments in a major policy address were laced with a broad appeal for trans-Atlantic unity after two years of strains over Iraq.

In a sign of reconciliation, European leaders were nearing agreement to provide more aid for Iraqi reconstruction efforts and to build a security force. An announcement could come as early as today, when Bush meets with his counterparts at NATO and European Union headquarters in Brussels.

Bush's 31-minute speech, in the grand setting of Concert Noble, a 19th-century hall, declared that in a "new era of trans-Atlantic unity," the United States and Europe must work together to rebuild Iraq, seek peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, insist that Iran not develop nuclear weapons and demand that Syria end its occupation of Lebanon.

But the speech, the start of a four-day journey to Belgium, Germany and Slovakia, was most striking for his toughest words yet about President Vladimir V. Putin's rollback of democratic reforms and crackdown on dissent in Russia. Bush is to meet with Putin on Thursday in Slovakia's capital, Bratislava.

"We recognize that reform will not happen overnight," Bush said. "We must always remind Russia, however, that our alliance stands for a free press, a vital opposition, the sharing of power and the rule of law — and the United States and all European countries should place democratic reform at the heart of their dialogue with Russia."

In the evening, the president had a small dinner — lobster risotto and filet of beef — for his old nemesis, President Jacques Chirac of France, and appeared comfortable next to the man who had infuriated him by aggressively opposing the invasion of Iraq. But when a French reporter asked Bush if relations had improved enough for him to ask Chirac to visit his ranch, the president did not offer an invitation, and instead joked, "I'm looking for a good cowboy."

He added that "this is my first dinner since I've been re-elected on European soil, and it's with Jacques Chirac, and that ought to say something." U.S. officials said they expected Chirac to visit Washington sometime in the next year.