Bush, Putin agree on need to check nuclear proliferation around world

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday on new efforts to keep nuclear arms out of dangerous hands, but their sharp differences over Russian backsliding on democracy spilled into an open and sometimes prickly exchange.\nSeeking common ground with a former Cold War rival that is now a key anti-terror partner, Buosh said the two leaders stressed agreements over differences.\nBut U.S. concerns about a series of actions by Putin that are seen as solidifying central power and quashing dissent dominated the leaders' side-by-side appearance.\nBush said he talked with Putin at length of his "concerns about Russia's commitment in fulfilling these universal principles" common to all democracies -- such as the rule of law, protection of minorities and viable political debate.\n"All I can tell you is he said, 'Yes meant yes,' when we talked about values that we share," Bush said.\nPutin said, "Russia has made its choice in favor of democracy."\n"This is our final choice and we have no way back. There can be no return to what we used to have," Putin said. He added: "We are not going to make up, to invent any kind of special Russian democracy."\nDespite those assurances, Putin compared his move to end direct popular election of regional governors to the American Electoral College process of electing presidents. \n"It's not considered undemocratic, is it?" Putin said.\nAnd he suggested that Russians who oppose his actions, such as a campaign against the Yukos oil company and shut down of independent media outlets, can sway public opinion because they "are richer than those who are in favor." "We often do not pay the attention to that," he said.\nBush was challenged as well, fielding questions from Russian journalists doubting American democracy.\n"I'm perfectly comfortable in telling you, our country is one that safeguards human rights and human dignity, and we resolve our disputes in a peaceful way," Bush said sharply.\nRussian officials dislike what they see as U.S. meddling in their internal affairs and in former Soviet republics where Moscow's influence is waning as some new leaders look westward.\nBut just as Bush wants to protect a vital partnership on security issues, Putin walks a careful line because of his desire not to harm Russia's chances of membership in the World Trade Organization.\nTurning to global concerns, Bush and Putin said they were in unison on the importance of stopping suspected nuclear weapons programs in North Korea and Iran. They remained in disagreement over Russian arms sales to Syria, which the United States wants halted, said a senior administration official.\n"We agreed that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon. I appreciate Vladimir's understanding on that," Bush said. "We agreed that North Korea should not have a nuclear weapon."\nPutin said, "We share a common opinion in this regard and we are taking a similar approach: We should put an end to the proliferation of missiles and missile technology. The proliferation of such weapons is not in the interest specific of countries or in the international community in general."\nThe leaders met for nearly three hours -- over an hour alone with only translators -- at a medieval castle overlooking the snow-covered capital and the Danube River. \n"The discussions never got heated," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.\nA key product of the talks were agreements designed to counter the spread of both conventional and nuclear weapons.\nBush and Putin agreed to upgrade security at Russia's nuclear plants and weapons stockpiles; provide new procedures for responding to possible terrorist attacks; and set up a program to keep nuclear fuel from being diverted to use in nuclear weapons.\n"We agreed to accelerate our work to protect nuclear weapons and materials both in our two nations and around the world," Bush said.