Newsgroup: it.politica
Titolo: Berlusconi who ?

Riportiamo le notizie internazionali sull'incontro bush - puti come potete
leggere il signor b. non e' stato citato in nessuna
occasione..................
Bush, Putin put tensions aside for Moscow meeting
By Peter Baker
The Washington Post
MOSCOW - President Bush opened a diplomatically sensitive 24-hour visit here
yesterday and moved immediately to smooth over days of prickly exchanges
with President Vladimir Putin about past Soviet tyranny and Russia's current
drift toward authoritarianism.
Bush and Putin embraced and smiled broadly as they greeted each other at the
Russian presidential residence, then took a joyride in a vintage 1956 Soviet
automobile and finally sat down to dinner together with their wives. The
determined show of friendship appeared intended to demonstrate that the
recent fracas about the Soviet legacy after World War II would not damage
the relationship.
While aides said Bush raised concerns about Russian democracy during a
private meeting with Putin, Bush decided to keep it behind closed doors, at
least until leaving town.
Unlike normal practice overseas, the White House arranged a schedule in
which Bush will give no speech or news conference while in Moscow to avoid
spoiling Putin's big moment today as he hosts dozens of world leaders for a
Red Square celebration of the 60th anniversary of the World War II victory
over Nazi Germany.
"I am looking forward to the celebration tomorrow," Bush said in brief
comments at Putin's country dacha tucked among birch trees outside Moscow.
"It is a moment where the world will 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
out."
      Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Bush climb into a
vintage Volga yesterday to drive to dinner at Putin's private residence
compound outside Moscow.
In praising Russian courage, he left out his balancing assessments of recent
days when he pointed out that the end of World War II ushered in a
half-century of Soviet oppression for Central and Eastern Europe. Aides said
that in the session they attended, Bush did not bring up the
Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of 1939 that resulted in Soviet occupation of the
Baltic states, an agreement U.S. officials had urged Putin to renounce.
"There's a lot more to our relationship with Russia than just this
discussion," national-security adviser Stephen Hadley said afterward. He
added: "The history has been pretty well discussed here in the run-up to
this event tomorrow." For Bush, "his focus really is, without denigrating in
any way the history, trying to focus, as I said, on moving forward."
The flap has threatened to eclipse the planned Victory Day celebration in
which Bush will join Putin and more than 50 other leaders in reviewing a
military parade in front of Lenin's tomb on Red Square and then attend a
luncheon in the Kremlin. To note the mixed meaning of the anniversary, Bush
stopped in Latvia, a tiny Baltic republic consigned to Moscow rule after the
war.
Bush's statements and itinerary drew resentful rebukes from Putin and his
government. In comments before Bush's arrival, Putin said no apology was
needed for Molotov-Ribbentrop because the pact was declared null and void in
1989. His aides renewed the old Stalinist argument that there was no
occupation because the Baltic states supposedly asked to join the Soviet
Union.
In a bid to coax Putin into acknowledging past mistakes, Bush gave a speech
Saturday in Riga, the Latvian capital, in which he said the United States
also shared some blame for the division of postwar Europe because of
President Franklin Roosevelt's participation in the Yalta conference of
1945. The successive Communist takeover of half of Europe, Bush added, was
"one of the greatest wrongs of history."
U.S. and Russian officials insisted the dustup was actually a sign of the
strong ties between the two leaders. "It simply again underscores that these
two men have developed a relationship in which they can talk about any
subject and talk about it in a constructive and friendly manner," said
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
used similar language: "This is an excellent relationship between these two
men. They feel that they can discuss anything."
Yet Hadley said they did not discuss Putin's recent declaration that the
collapse of the Soviet Union was "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of
the century." At a briefing, Hadley said the comment had to be considered in
context and would not say whether the United States accepted Putin's
interpretation.
There were light moments between the two leaders as well.
The men took a spin on the grounds of Putin's estate in a shiny, white 1956
Soviet Volga sedan. Bush took the wheel and a giggling Putin announced from
the passenger's seat: "I'm having so much fun, we're going for another lap."
They joked about first lady Laura Bush's comic performance at a Washington
gala last week in which she poked fun at her husband's early bedtimes and
lack of Texas ranch bona fides.
Bush arrived in Moscow yesterday evening after spending the morning in the
Netherlands honoring the sacrifice of U.S. soldiers in World War II. On a
cold, drizzly day that at one point saw light hail fall, Bush laid a wreath
at a cemetery filled with U.S. war dead, shook hands with some of their
surviving compatriots and contemplated the meaning for today's generation.
"The world's tyrants learned a lesson," Bush told an audience of several
thousand Americans and Dutch gathered amid rows and rows of white marble
headstones rising from immaculate grassy fields. "There is no power like the
power of freedom and no soldier as strong as a soldier who fights for that
freedom."
With 8,301 graves, including those of 40 sets of brothers, the Netherlands
American Cemetery and Memorial in the village of Margraten outside
Maastricht was first established by advancing U.S. forces in November 1944
and eventually became the largest U.S. military cemetery in Europe outside
France. Local residents "adopt" graves to tend and leave flowers
occasionally. Small children spent the day before Bush's visit planting U.S.
and Dutch flags
Indiadaily : Bush, Putin meet amid discord over democracy
May 9, 2005
Changing the tone from tough talk to buddy-buddy friendship, United States
President George W Bush and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin went out of
their way to take a unified stand on Middle East peace and terrorism on
Sunday after sharp words in recent days about democratic backsliding and
post-war Soviet domination. A smiling Putin even put Bush behind the wheel
of his prized 1956 Volga, a pristine white sedan, and let him take it for a
spin around the grounds of his private compound 40 kilometers west of
Moscow. Putin also kidded the president about Laura Bush's recent comedy
routine. The happy picture of the two presidents summed up a theme that
aides on both sides described - powerful leaders who have a strong
relationship and can discuss their disagreements. Bush and Putin seemed
determined not to cast a cloud over Monday's celebration in Red Square of
the 60th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat, a victory that cost the
Soviet Union the lives of nearly 27 million soldiers and citizens. "It is a
moment where the world will recognise the great bravery and sacrifice the
Russian people made in the defeat of Nazism," Bush said, sitting alongside
Putin in front of a ceramic fireplace in his dacha. "The people of Russia
suffered incredible hardship, and yet the Russian spirit never died out."
"Russia's a great nation and I''m looking forward to working together on big
problems," Bush said. "And I want to thank you for your help on Iran and the
Middle East and there's a lot we can do together." In their private talks,
Bush even complimented Putin on a speech that had raised eyebrows in
Washington last month, when the Russian leader said demise of the Soviet
Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. US
national security adviser Stephen Hadley said the leaders had a
"straightforward talk" about Russia's tensions with the Baltic countries and
Russia's internal problems. But he characterised the approach as "a little
explanation to make sure the president (Putin) understood the message" Bush
was presenting when he was in Latvia over the weekend and then in the former
Soviet republic of Georgia on Tuesday. But mostly, Hadley said, Bush
emphasised areas of agreement and the belief that it was also time to move
on to the many other elements of the relationship that are important. While
Bush had prodded Russia earlier to accept responsibility for Soviet
annexation of the Baltics and welcome democracies on its borders, Hadley
said, "We certainly don''t characterise it as lecturing. And in the
conversations I was in neither did President Putin."
Allies' 'mistake' left unsaid as Bush, Putin meet
By BARRIE MCKENNA
Monday, May 9, 2005 Page A1
With a report from Reuters
WASHINGTON -- George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin may clash on the history of
the last century, but they seem to get along fine in the here and now.
The U.S. President began a two-day trip to Russia yesterday, taking a spin
in a vintage car with his Russian counterpart and sharing strategies to
combat global terrorism and bring peace to the Middle East.
American officials said Mr. Bush pressed Mr. Putin to pursue democratic
reforms in Russia. But there was no repeat of the previous day's verbal
sparring that was fuelled by Mr. Bush's extraordinary comments on the
"mistake" made by the Western Allies when they decided in 1945 not to take
on the Soviet Union after the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Saturday, during a speech to Latvian leaders, the U.S. President condemned
the nearly 50-year Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe, describing the
captivity of millions of people as "one of the greatest wrongs of history."
He also suggested that U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt may have misjudged
Soviet designs on vast swaths of Eastern Europe at the 1945 Yalta
conference. He compared U.S. complicity in the parcelling of postwar Europe
to the prewar appeasement of Adolf Hitler.
"Once again, when powerful governments negotiated, the freedom of small
nations was somehow expendable. Yet this attempt to sacrifice freedom for
the sake of stability left a continent divided and unstable," he said in
Riga, vowing that Washington will not make the same errors as it tries to
bring peace to the Middle East.
"We will not repeat the mistakes of other generations -- appeasing or
excusing tyranny and sacrificing history in the vain pursuit of stability."
"We have learned our lesson. No one's liberty is expendable. In the long
run, our security, and true stability, depend on the freedom of others."
It's a vastly different interpretation of history than that held by many
Russians -- or Americans. The late Ronald Reagan, when he was president in
1984, vigorously defended the Yalta Agreement for securing American
interests.
In recent days, Mr. Putin has repeated long-standing Russian assertions that
its troops were "invited" into the Baltic countries in 1940 -- a view of
history that angers millions of Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians who
lived through the occupation or abandoned homes when the Soviets marched in.
Speaking at the unveiling of a memorial in Moscow on Saturday, Mr. Putin
praised the Soviet Union's postwar record as one of liberation, not
occupation.
"Our people not only defended their homeland, but also liberated 11
countries in Europe," he said.
Mr. Putin and Mr. Bush did not reveal any aggravations to the public
yesterday, as the two men hugged and smiled at television cameras. They were
photographed looking at a wall map of Europe before their meeting at Mr.
Putin's country home west of Moscow.
"Russia is a great nation and I'm looking forward to working together on big
problems and I want to thank you for your help on Iran and the Middle East
and there's a lot we can do together," Mr. Bush told Mr. Putin, who plays
host today to a special commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Nazi
Germany's defeat.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice played down any tension over the
subject yesterday, telling reporters that the leaders' ability to talk about
awkward subjects is a testament to the strength of their relationship.
"I would characterize the relationship as absolutely straightforward. They
say what they think, they say what they mean, and then they act on that,"
she said.
Aljazeeranet: Bush, Putin agree on Middle East peace
Monday 09 May 2005, 9:26 Makka Time, 6:26 GMT
George Bush and Vladimir Putin have presented a unified front on Middle East 
peace and "terrorism" after sharp words in recent days about democratic 
backsliding and post-war Soviet domination.
The American and Russian presidents seemed determined not to cast a cloud 
over Monday's celebration in Red Square of the 60th anniversary of Nazi 
Germany's defeat - a victory that cost the Soviet Union nearly 27 million 
lives.
"It is a moment where the world will recognise the great bravery and 
sacrifice the Russian people made in the defeat of Nazism," Bush said, 
sitting beside Putin.
"The people of Russia suffered incredible hardship, and yet the Russian 
spirit never died out," he added.
In their private talks, Bush even complimented Putin on a speech that raised 
eyebrows in Washington last month, when the Russian leader said the demise 
of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th 
century.
US National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the leaders had a 
"straightforward talk" about Russia's tensions with the Baltic countries and 
Russia's internal problems.
Middle East
But he characterised the approach as "a little explanation to make sure the 
president (Putin) understood the message" Bush was presenting when he was in 
Latvia over the weekend and in the former Soviet republic of Georgia on 
Tuesday.
Mostly, Hadley said, Bush emphasised areas of agreement and the belief that 
it was also time to move on to the many other elements of the relationship 
that are important.
While the US president had prodded Russia earlier to accept responsibility 
for Soviet annexation of the Baltics and welcome democracies on its borders, 
Hadley said: "We certainly don't characterise it as lecturing. And in the 
conversations I was in neither did President Putin."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey 
Lavrov said Bush and Putin found wide agreement on the Middle East, support 
for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and a joint determination to fight 
terrorism.
"They talked about the need that one cannot flirt with terrorism or 
terrorists," Rice said. "I think that was really the essential issue here 
because they're very concerned about the Palestinian situation."
She said the countries would consult on the training of Palestinian security 
forces.
Souring relations
Bush and Putin also discussed Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan and Iran, among 
other issues.
Russia is building a nuclear reactor in the Iranian city of Bushehr and the 
United States fears this could lead Tehran to develop nuclear weapons.
However, US officials accept for now Russian assurances that no enrichment 
or reprocessing will take place, and that any spent fuel rods will be 
returned to Russia.
Relations between Bush and Putin have soured lately amid US unhappiness with 
Russian missile sales to Syria and crackdowns on business, as well as 
Moscow's complaints of American meddling in its traditional sphere of 
influence.
Even before Bush's arrival, Putin appeared increasingly irritated by Bush's 
criticism of Russia's treatment of its former republics and his push for 
democracy along Russia's borders.
Putin said in an American television interview that the United States should 
question its own democratic ways before looking for problems with Russia's.
The Russian leader also has rebuffed calls from Bush and others for an 
apology for what they see as the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Latvia and 
Lithuania.
Los angeles time: Bush, Putin Salute Soviet WWII Sacrifices
By Kim Murphy, Times Staff Writer
MOSCOW - In a day of mourning and splendid pageantry reminiscent of Russia's 
powerful past, world leaders gathered today under a towering Soviet emblem 
in Red Square to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi 
Germany in World War II.
President Bush sat in the place of honor next to Russian President Vladimir 
V. Putin, as 7,000 servicemen marched in crisp parade formation to the 
tolling of the Kremlin bells, the roar of deep-throated military chants and 
the flapping of the bright red hammer-and-sickle banners that for decades 
after the war symbolized Russia's enmity with its World War II allies.
The day of the Allied victory in Europe, the Russian president told more 
than 50 world leaders and 4,000 war veterans gathered near Vladimir Lenin's 
tomb, "marks the day that the world was saved."
"The lessons of the war send us the warning that indifference, temporizing 
and playing accomplice to violence inevitably lead to tragedies on a 
planetary scale," Putin said. "Faced with the real threat of terrorism 
today . it is our duty to defend a world order based on security and justice 
and on a new culture of relations among nations that will not allow a repeat 
of any war, neither 'cold' nor 'hot.' "
Absent from the military pomp were the tanks and missiles that accompanied 
Soviet parades during the Cold War years. White House officials described 
the parade as "understated" compared to past displays of military might, and 
said Bush was "comfortable" in a setting that included swooping Russian 
military jets and flags bearing Lenin's image.
Not long after Bush's departure for the former Soviet republic of Georgia, 
old military tanks rolled into Red Square for a dazzling song, dance and 
light spectacle that included a dramatic re-enactment of key Russian battles 
of the war, folk dancing, military marches, grand waltzes and a fireworks 
display
Guardian unlimited: WWII's Victors, Victims Honored in Moscow
Monday May 9, 2005 7:01 PM AP Photo MOSB114 By JUDITH INGRAM Associated 
Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) - Jet fighters roared overhead and white-haired veterans rode 
army trucks across Red Square on Monday as the leaders of Russia, the U.S. 
and other nations honored the victors and victims of World War II, paying 
particular tribute to the Soviet Union's huge sacrifice in defeating Nazi 
Germany 60 years ago.
At a lavish military parade replete with goose-stepping soldiers, a 
hammer-and-sickle flag and other symbols of the communist era, Russian 
President Vladimir Putin evoked the unity that brought victory but he also 
stressed the Soviets' wartime role.
``I bow low before all veterans of the Great Patriotic War,'' he said, using 
Russia's name for World War II, which killed an estimated 27 million Soviets 
during nearly four years of bitter fighting after the Nazi invasion of 1941.
Amid strict security that closed the heart of Moscow to ordinary citizens, 
Putin watched the parade from a podium in front of Lenin's tomb flanked by 
President Bush, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor 
Gerhard Schroeder. On the Kremlin wall, the word ``victory'' was emblazoned 
in several languages, including those of the war's losers.
Putin described May 9, 1945 - commemorated in Russia as Victory Day - as ``a 
day of victory of good over evil, freedom over tyranny.''
Beneath overcast skies, the parade began with four goose-stepping soldiers 
in ceremonial gold-embroidered uniforms carrying a replica of the red 
hammer-and-cycle banner unfurled atop the Reichstag in Berlin after the 
building was seized by Soviet troops a week before the Nazi surrender. 
Veterans adorned with gleaming medals rode by in green trucks.
Soldiers in modern and World War II-era uniforms - infantrymen with red 
flags topped by Soviet insignia, tank troopers with black padded helmets - 
marched in tight formation, the slap of their boots echoing across the 
cobblestones. Jets streamed smoke in the Russian flag's white, blue and red 
colors above the square after Putin's speech.
While Russians have often complained that the Soviets' wartime role is 
underrated in the West, Putin said that ``we have never divided the victory 
between ours and theirs, and we will always remember the help of the 
Allies,'' listing the United States, Britain, France and those who fought 
fascism in Germany and Italy.
``Today we pay tribute to the courage of all Europeans who countered 
Nazism,'' Putin said.
However, he added, ``the most cruel and decisive events unfolded on the 
territory of the Soviet Union.'' Listing battles such as Stalingrad, Kursk 
and the siege of Leningrad - where he was born in 1952 - Putin said that 
``the Red Army put a victorious end to the war with the liberation of Europe 
and the battle for Berlin.''
Recent public bickering over the Soviets' postwar domination of eastern 
Europe and Western allegations of democratic backsliding in Russia was put 
aside for the celebration.
Putin and Bush smiled when the American president arrived for the parade. 
When Bush lowered his umbrella, despite the rain, to allow photographs, 
Putin laughed and did the same. The Russian leader reserved the seat next to 
him for Bush, calling him a guest of ``special importance.''
After the parade, Bush walked next to Putin as the international leaders 
strolled to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and laid red carnations 
alongside a carpet of red roses spread in honor of those killed in World War 
II. They stood silently before an eternal flame at the tomb close to the red 
brick Kremlin wall before heading inside for a reception.
Speaking at the reception, Putin drew a parallel between Word War II and 
today's threats from extremism and terrorism. ``We must strengthen our 
cooperation in the fight against this evil,'' he said.
He also said victory over the Nazis brought ``the right to freedom, to life 
itself, to an independent choice of a path of development'' - the kind of 
remark bitterly disputed in the Baltic states, which were annexed by the 
Soviet Union and gained independence only with its breakup in 1991.
The leaders of two Baltic nations, Estonia and Lithuania, stayed away, 
angered by Putin's portrayal of the Soviet Union as a liberator despite 
decades of occupation. Bush balanced his Moscow visit with a trip to Latvia, 
another Baltic nation, and flew Monday to Georgia, a former Soviet state 
where a new pro-Western leadership is seeking to shed Russian influence.
After the reception, Putin and other VIPs gathered in Red Square for a 
concert that started with the tolling of the Kremlin bells and a moment of 
silence.
Security has been a concern in the capital because of attacks by Chechen 
separatists over the past three years, so central Moscow was closed to the 
public. Russians were urged to gather in homes or parks to mark the holiday.
Despite Putin's passionate praise, some veterans said the tightly controlled 
access to the celebrations showed a lack of respect.
``Putin stole our victory!'' said Maya Sergeyeva, 79, a wartime nurse who 
was among 5,000 protesters who gathered under hammer-and-sickle flags at an 
opposition rally in Moscow.

 occasione..................
CUT
E quando Bush si č alzato per andare al cesso?
Nemmeno li l'hanno citato?
Pare che abbia fatto da mediatore tra lo stronzo e il buco del culo.