Bush and Putin Take a Spin

"Bush and Putin embraced and smiled broadly as they greeted each other at the Russian presidential residence, then took a joy ride 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, the president decided to keep his remarks on the subject behind closed doors, at least until he leaves."

Elisabeth Bumiller writes in the New York Times: "Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin even took a brief spin on the dacha grounds in a gleaming 1956 Volga, with Mr. Bush at the wheel. In a photograph that is likely to become a symbol of the good will that the White House and Kremlin sought to portray here on a damp spring evening, the two presidents waved from the windows as the car, purchased by Mr. Putin last year, emerged from a forest of birches. . . .

"But the two sides announced no formal agreements or breakthroughs, and the meeting seemed more of a place holder until Russia holds a summit meeting of the world's major industrial democracies, the Group of 8, in St. Petersburg next summer."

Barrie McKenna writes in Toronto's Globe and Mail: "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."

Here is the transcript of the brief remarks by Putin and Bush as they arrived at the residence.

As Cooper wrote in his pool report: "The whole thing took less than 10 minutes and broke up rather quickly when a cheeky reporter yelled, 'President Bush, why do you think you can still trust President Putin?'' His answer was a smile and a 'nice try.'. . . .

"On the way out, POTUS cocked his finger at your pooler. 'Behave yourself,' he said. 'The bars close late here.' "

The Latvian Contrition

Bush started off his trip with a stop in Riga, the capital of Latvia.

Peter Baker wrote in Sunday's Washington Post: "Bush escalated an increasingly pointed long-distance debate with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the true legacy of the end of World War II. With Putin refusing to renounce the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, Bush tried to provide a model for expressing contrition for past national mistakes.

"In a speech to Latvian leaders, Bush cited the U.S. role at the Yalta conference in 1945, which is widely seen as having paved the way for the Soviet Union to dominate not only the Baltic states but also Eastern Europe for nearly half a century. And to make the point that the United States owns up to 'the injustices of our history,' he reminded his audience -- and by extension Putin -- of the shameful heritage of American slavery and centuries of racial oppression."