The summit in Bratislava has ended. As predicted, the attention of the Russian and US political elites was centered on the fate of Russian democracy. At any rate, this is the impression one can get based on what has been said at the press conference given by Vladimir Putin and George Bush after their talks.
Commenting on their meeting, President Bush said that Russian President's statement about his commitment to democracy was the most important result of the summit. For his part, V. Putin promised to continue Russia's progress along the path of democracy.
"14 years ago Russia herself, without exterior pressure, made its choice in favor of democracy. That was our final choice, and there can be no backtracking. It is warranted by the choice made by the Russian people, and no one outside Russia can give any better warranty", V. Putin said.
There would be no Russian variant of democracy, he added, but with only one provision: all the main institutions and principles of democracy should be adequate to the present-day status of Russian society, its history and traditions.
George Bush believed Vladimir Putin. "Mr. Putin can be trusted when he speaks of his full commitment to democracy and there being no backtracking on it. I believe that he is a firm believer in democracy. I appreciate it", said US President.
The two heads of state discussed the freedom of the press, and were "quite frank about it", as Russian President said. "We do not think that it all has to be played up, creating new problems where there are none and souring Russian-American relations, which we are very interested in developing", V. Putin said.
For his part, G. Bush qualified the talks as constructive. "Many positive results have been achieved", he added. Among these is the intensification of consultations on Russia entering the World Trade Organization. Also on the summit's positive balance sheet is Russia's readiness to make reasonable compromises, as confirmed by V. Putin.
Having discussed the development of nuclear programs in Iran and N. Korea, the two parties stressed the need to prevent the spread of missile and nuclear technologies,. "We have a common view, common approach. A barrier should be put to the spread of missile and nuclear technologies", V. Putin said. G. Bush agreed with this opinion. "We agreed to cooperate in the field of power engineering", US President added.
At the end of the press conference the two Presidents warmly shook hands. The press conference was also attended by the members of the two delegations, including US President's spouse Lora Bush.
Commenting on their meeting, President Bush said that Russian President's statement about his commitment to democracy was the most important result of the summit. For his part, V. Putin promised to continue Russia's progress along the path of democracy.
"14 years ago Russia herself, without exterior pressure, made its choice in favor of democracy. That was our final choice, and there can be no backtracking. It is warranted by the choice made by the Russian people, and no one outside Russia can give any better warranty", V. Putin said.
There would be no Russian variant of democracy, he added, but with only one provision: all the main institutions and principles of democracy should be adequate to the present-day status of Russian society, its history and traditions.
George Bush believed Vladimir Putin. "Mr. Putin can be trusted when he speaks of his full commitment to democracy and there being no backtracking on it. I believe that he is a firm believer in democracy. I appreciate it", said US President.
The two heads of state discussed the freedom of the press, and were "quite frank about it", as Russian President said. "We do not think that it all has to be played up, creating new problems where there are none and souring Russian-American relations, which we are very interested in developing", V. Putin said.
For his part, G. Bush qualified the talks as constructive. "Many positive results have been achieved", he added. Among these is the intensification of consultations on Russia entering the World Trade Organization. Also on the summit's positive balance sheet is Russia's readiness to make reasonable compromises, as confirmed by V. Putin.
Having discussed the development of nuclear programs in Iran and N. Korea, the two parties stressed the need to prevent the spread of missile and nuclear technologies,. "We have a common view, common approach. A barrier should be put to the spread of missile and nuclear technologies", V. Putin said. G. Bush agreed with this opinion. "We agreed to cooperate in the field of power engineering", US President added.
At the end of the press conference the two Presidents warmly shook hands. The press conference was also attended by the members of the two delegations, including US President's spouse Lora Bush.
