Bush begins democracy talks in the Baltics, Europe trip to hail World War II victory, decry postwar occupation
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7745789/
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, left, arrive in Latvia and appear alongside Latvian President Vike Freiberga on Friday. 
The Associated PressUpdated: 4:24 a.m. ET May 7, 2005RIGA, Latvia - President Bush, diving into a delicate dispute between Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union, is on friendly turf here where streets are adorned with American flags and he is being pinned with the nation’s highest medal.
Still, while he wants to highlight democratic reform in this ex-Soviet republic, he is being careful not to alienate Moscow, which sees Bush’s stop here as a sign of meddling in its neighborhood. On the one hand, Bush wants Latvia to give a greater role in society to its Russian residents. On the other, he is nudging Moscow to acknowledge the pain that decades of Soviet occupation caused Latvia and its neighbors.
Bush was greeted at the imposing Riga Castle, situated along a river that winds through the city’s old city, by an honor guard and the playing of both countries’ national anthems. He was given the “Three-Star Order, first class,” the nation’s top medal by Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.
“I’ve been telling the (Latvian) president that it’s such a joy to come to the country that loves and values freedom and to be in the presence of a president who speaks so clearly about the need for people to be free and the recognition that a free world will lead to peace,” Bush said. “So Madame president, thank you for your hospitality. Thank you so much for being our friend.”
Post-war policies cast shadow on visit Bush’s joint meeting Saturday with the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia underscores still-simmering anger at the Soviet Union’s annexation of their countries during World War II — resulting in an oppressive occupation that lasted 50 years.
SPECIAL COVERAGE • Latest on Bush's European trip• EU needles Russia with V-E Day message• NBC: Bush meeting Putin on troubled ground• NBC: Germans still grapple with WWII legacy• Putin questions Allies’ bombing of Dresden• Bush to remind Putin of Baltics' occupation• Special Report: D-Day at 60• Citizen Journalist: Share combat memories
“The form of government that the Baltics had to live under was not of their choosing,” the president said in one of a series of pre-trip interviews with foreign media outlets.
Bush was reinforcing that message later Saturday in a speech that the White House hopes will encourage the Russians to confront a dark spot in their wartime history, in which the end of World War II in Europe saw the Baltics merely trade Nazi domination for communist rule. Bush tried once before, when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Slovakia in February, to convince the Russian leader that resolving the issue with the Baltics is in his best interests.
“You need to work with these young democracies. I explained to him that it’s best that there be democracies on his border,” Bush said he told Putin.
Acknowledging U.S. role in annexation Bush, however, acknowledged that the United States and Britain share a portion of blame for the Baltics’ pain. The 1945 Yalta agreement that carved up post-World War II Europe was forged by Soviet leader Josef Stalin, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
“There’s no question three leaders made the decision,” Bush said.
The Baltic leaders have pressed the Russians to denounce the occupation. Russia has rebuffed the request, insisting the countries willingly joined the Soviet Union in 1940. As a result, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Estonian President Arnold Ruutel are boycotting Monday’s military parade in Moscow celebrating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
Bush is to attend those ceremonies as part of a five-day European tour.
Still, he added the Latvia stop as well as one next week in the newly democratic ex-Soviet republic of Georgia. Both nations are resisting Kremlin influence and turning West. Independent since 1991, Latvia and its Baltic neighbors joined the European Union and NATO last year. Also last year, Georgia replaced its corrupt, Moscow-leaning leader with pro-Western President Mikhail Saakashvili, who is refusing to attend the Moscow celebrations because talks have failed to produce an agreement on the closure of Russian military bases in Georgia.
Asked if Russia poses a threat to its smaller neighbors, Bush said, “I certainly hope not.” But he added that Latvia has little to fear if his hopes turn out to be false. “We will stand with Latvia if a larger country tries to intimidate the people,” he said.
Balancing act for BushAt the same time, well aware of Russia’s importance to many U.S. priorities, the White House made sure to emphasize the parts of Bush’s Riga speech aimed at trying to defuse Russian pique over the president’s itinerary. Bush and his aides said he would focus on encouraging Latvia to better protect minority rights, a reference to the large ethnic Russian population in Latvia.
“A true democracy is one that says minorities are important and that the will of the majority can’t trample the minority,” Bush said.
Bush’s meetings and speech were part of a busy less-than-24 hours he was spending in this country of 2.3 million on the Baltic Sea. He was also meeting with local leaders and laying a wreath at a monument in a Riga square that is Latvia’s leading symbol of independence.
By afternoon, he was to travel to an American veterans cemetery in the Netherlands for more ceremonies marking the anniversary of the World War II defeat of Nazi Germany. Later Sunday, Bush goes to Moscow for a private meeting with Putin and Monday’s World War II victory commemoration. He closes his trip on Tuesday with a visit to Tbilisi, Georgia.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, left, arrive in Latvia and appear alongside Latvian President Vike Freiberga on Friday.
The Associated PressUpdated: 4:24 a.m. ET May 7, 2005RIGA, Latvia - President Bush, diving into a delicate dispute between Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union, is on friendly turf here where streets are adorned with American flags and he is being pinned with the nation’s highest medal.
Still, while he wants to highlight democratic reform in this ex-Soviet republic, he is being careful not to alienate Moscow, which sees Bush’s stop here as a sign of meddling in its neighborhood. On the one hand, Bush wants Latvia to give a greater role in society to its Russian residents. On the other, he is nudging Moscow to acknowledge the pain that decades of Soviet occupation caused Latvia and its neighbors.
Bush was greeted at the imposing Riga Castle, situated along a river that winds through the city’s old city, by an honor guard and the playing of both countries’ national anthems. He was given the “Three-Star Order, first class,” the nation’s top medal by Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.
“I’ve been telling the (Latvian) president that it’s such a joy to come to the country that loves and values freedom and to be in the presence of a president who speaks so clearly about the need for people to be free and the recognition that a free world will lead to peace,” Bush said. “So Madame president, thank you for your hospitality. Thank you so much for being our friend.”
Post-war policies cast shadow on visit Bush’s joint meeting Saturday with the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia underscores still-simmering anger at the Soviet Union’s annexation of their countries during World War II — resulting in an oppressive occupation that lasted 50 years.
SPECIAL COVERAGE • Latest on Bush's European trip• EU needles Russia with V-E Day message• NBC: Bush meeting Putin on troubled ground• NBC: Germans still grapple with WWII legacy• Putin questions Allies’ bombing of Dresden• Bush to remind Putin of Baltics' occupation• Special Report: D-Day at 60• Citizen Journalist: Share combat memories
“The form of government that the Baltics had to live under was not of their choosing,” the president said in one of a series of pre-trip interviews with foreign media outlets.
Bush was reinforcing that message later Saturday in a speech that the White House hopes will encourage the Russians to confront a dark spot in their wartime history, in which the end of World War II in Europe saw the Baltics merely trade Nazi domination for communist rule. Bush tried once before, when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Slovakia in February, to convince the Russian leader that resolving the issue with the Baltics is in his best interests.
“You need to work with these young democracies. I explained to him that it’s best that there be democracies on his border,” Bush said he told Putin.
Acknowledging U.S. role in annexation Bush, however, acknowledged that the United States and Britain share a portion of blame for the Baltics’ pain. The 1945 Yalta agreement that carved up post-World War II Europe was forged by Soviet leader Josef Stalin, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
“There’s no question three leaders made the decision,” Bush said.
The Baltic leaders have pressed the Russians to denounce the occupation. Russia has rebuffed the request, insisting the countries willingly joined the Soviet Union in 1940. As a result, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Estonian President Arnold Ruutel are boycotting Monday’s military parade in Moscow celebrating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
Bush is to attend those ceremonies as part of a five-day European tour.
Still, he added the Latvia stop as well as one next week in the newly democratic ex-Soviet republic of Georgia. Both nations are resisting Kremlin influence and turning West. Independent since 1991, Latvia and its Baltic neighbors joined the European Union and NATO last year. Also last year, Georgia replaced its corrupt, Moscow-leaning leader with pro-Western President Mikhail Saakashvili, who is refusing to attend the Moscow celebrations because talks have failed to produce an agreement on the closure of Russian military bases in Georgia.
Asked if Russia poses a threat to its smaller neighbors, Bush said, “I certainly hope not.” But he added that Latvia has little to fear if his hopes turn out to be false. “We will stand with Latvia if a larger country tries to intimidate the people,” he said.
Balancing act for BushAt the same time, well aware of Russia’s importance to many U.S. priorities, the White House made sure to emphasize the parts of Bush’s Riga speech aimed at trying to defuse Russian pique over the president’s itinerary. Bush and his aides said he would focus on encouraging Latvia to better protect minority rights, a reference to the large ethnic Russian population in Latvia.
“A true democracy is one that says minorities are important and that the will of the majority can’t trample the minority,” Bush said.
Bush’s meetings and speech were part of a busy less-than-24 hours he was spending in this country of 2.3 million on the Baltic Sea. He was also meeting with local leaders and laying a wreath at a monument in a Riga square that is Latvia’s leading symbol of independence.
By afternoon, he was to travel to an American veterans cemetery in the Netherlands for more ceremonies marking the anniversary of the World War II defeat of Nazi Germany. Later Sunday, Bush goes to Moscow for a private meeting with Putin and Monday’s World War II victory commemoration. He closes his trip on Tuesday with a visit to Tbilisi, Georgia.
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