Bush opens Germany-Russia trip amid Middle East violence

Wed Jul 12, 5:48 PM ET

ROSTOCK, Germany (AFP) - US President George W. Bush arrived in Germany on his way to a summit of wealthy countries in Russia amid nuclear disputes with Iran and North Korea and flaring Middle East violence.

Those volatile situations were expected to dominate the US president's talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, an increasingly close ally, as well as the July 15-17 Group of Eight (G8) gathering in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Bush arrived here to a red-carpet welcome before helicoptering to the posh resort of Heiligendamm.

During his flight, there were significant developments on Iran and North Korea, as well as renewed Middle East violence with the abduction of three Israeli soldiers by the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and an armed response from Israel.

"Certainly Israel has the right to defend itself and it has assured us that it is trying to proceed in a way as to avoid civilian casualties," said Bush spokesman Tony Snow.

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms this unprovoked act of terrorism, which was timed to exacerbate already high tensions in the region and sow further violence," he added, referring to Hezbollah's action.

"We also hold Syria and Iran, which have provided long-standing support for Hezbollah, responsible," he added.

On another front, the White House gave a cool reception to a new resolution by Russia and China on North Korea, reiterating US support for a Japanese measure that calls for sanctions in response to last week's missile barrage.

Asked for Washington's position on the new resolution, national security spokesman Frederick Jones replied: "We have previously expressed support for the Japanese resolution. We remain supportive of the Japanese resolution."

Meanwhile, Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the United States agreed in Paris to refer Iran back to the UN Security Council for refusing to freeze sensitive nuclear activities that the West fears are a prelude to Tehran getting nuclear weapons.

"The United States and its allies are working in concert," said Snow, telling reporters that a key goal is handling Iran and North Korea "in a way that reflects multi-lateral consensus and cooperation."

But "let's face it, there are disagreements on all of these things," he said, an apparent reference to Russian and Chinese opposition to sanctions on North Korea.

Bush's first stop was an area of northeastern Germany -- once behind the Iron Curtain -- that is home to Merkel, whom the president increasingly considers a close friend of the United States.

At a time when many of Bush's key European allies have been hobbled by political scandals or voted out of office, Merkel and Bush have grown friendly during her eight months in office as Germany's first female chancellor.

While Bush was scheduled to receive a ceremonial barrel of herring when he tours the city of Straslund, Merkel will offer something a bit more familiar to the former Texas governor: barbecue of wild boar and venison.

The diplomatic menu for Bush's visit calls for shows of unity and mutual fondess as both sides seek to break from chilly relations under former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who fiercely opposed the war in Iraq.

The US president is to leave Friday for Russia and talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the G8 summit, where Bush hopes for relief from pounding diplomatic headaches over North Korea and Iran.

With Russia central to US diplomatic efforts to resolve both crises, Bush was to raise concerns that Moscow is backsliding away from democracy "frankly, but privately," said US national security adviser Stephen Hadley.

"Nobody either wants to be lectured by somebody, nobody, either, likes to be scolded publicly," the US president, who meets with Putin July 15, said in an interview last week.

Bush was also expected to see Chinese President Hu Jintao who, like Putin, has resisted US-backed calls to punish North Korea after Pyongyang test-fired a barrage of missiles last week.

China has pushed North Korea to rejoin six-nation talks on its nuclear programs, and successfully sought a delay in a vote on a UN resolution calling for sanctions on Pyongyang to give 11th-hour diplomacy a chance.

Source

About headlines and content that has changed after it was added to this site - see disclaimer here

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.