ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP):IN A chilly summit prelude, U.S. President George W. Bush blocked Russia's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) yesterday and Russian President Vladimir Putin mockingly said Moscow doesn't want the kind of violence-plagued democracy the United States has fostered in Iraq.
Alternately joking and baiting each other at a news conference, the two also showed differences on the explosion of violence in the Middle East.
CRITICAL OF ISRAEL
Bush did not blame Israel for its punishing attacks in Lebanon and said it was up to the militant group Hezbollah to lay down its arms.
Putin, referring to Hezbollah, said abductions and the use of force were unacceptable. But he was also critical of Israel's use of force.
After that jarring meeting, Bush concluded that lecturing Putin in public was unproductive. Still, Bush said he offered Putin some suggestions.
"I talked about my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world like Iraq where there's a free press and free religion," Bush said .
Putin, in a barbed reply, said: "We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, I will tell you quite honestly."
Bush's face reddened as he tried to laugh off the remark. "Just wait," Bush replied about Iraq.
Putin also said Russia would not take part "in any crusades, in any holy admission to the World Trade Organisation," the 149-nation group that sets the rules for world trade.
The U.S. is the only country that has not signed off on Russia's membership in the WTO, and Bush dashed Putin's hopes for getting in.
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said "significant progress" had been made in narrowing differences over the protection of U.S. copyrights and patents and boosting the sale of American beef and pork, but the hope was that an agreement would be reached "in the next couple of months."
The Middle East violence threatened to overtake the summit's carefully-planned agenda and highlighted divisions among leaders.
