Zee Beam News

 Russian President Vladimir Putin met US counterpart George Bush in Slovak capital Bratislava on Thursday, signing key documents on Russian entry to the World Trade Organization alongside cooperation in the energy sector and nuclear affairs. Putin assured Bush Russia remained committed to democratic principles and would not invent a "Russian version of democracy." He said the state would never go back to totalitarian rule. But the Russian leader said introducing democratic principles should be appropriate to the development of Russian society, its history and traditions. "There's nothing surprising about that - those principles find their reflection in every country," Putin noted. He promised that key principles of democracy would be introduced in Russia "in the same form in which they are accepted in modern society." Commenting on the role of his predecessors, the Russian head of state credited them with bringing democracy to the Russian people "for all the excesses of their policies." Introducing democracy "shouldn't lead to the collapse of the state and impoverishment of the people," he said. The key goal of democratic reform was the strengthening of statehood and improvement of people's lives, Putin said. Bush lauded the Russian leader for his contribution to the development of democracy in Russia, though the American president said he did not always agree with his Russian counterpart, openly discussing problems arising. Russia and the US reached agreement on joint efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism, Bush told a news conference after the meeting. He said nuclear terrorism was one of the most significant threats faced by Russia and the United States. The two leaders agreed to promote the signing of an international convention on the fight against the threat and amendments to the convention on physical protection of nuclear materials. Moscow and Washington agreed to continue efforts to improve security systems of nuclear assets in both countries. They also agreed that Iran and Korea should not have nuclear weapons. To achieve those targets, Russia and the United States set up a top-level group on nuclear security issues. This will be headed by Alexander Rumyantsev, director of the Russian Federal Agency for Atomic Energy, and US Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman. The group will prepare its first report by July 1 this year. Bush and Putin issued joint statements on cooperation in the energy sector and on completion of bilateral talks on Russia's entry to the World Trade Organization. The two countries confirmed their intention to complete negotiations in 2005. This would help boost bilateral trade, the two heads of state said. In their statement on energy cooperation, Putin and Bush said this was one of the most important areas in bilateral cooperation, notably regarding energy security. The two leaders assigned Russian and US energy ministers to define obstacles to development of mutually-advantageous energy resources and investment growth in this area. The two sides expressed interest in the construction of new pipelines in Russia and the expansion of Russian oil and natural gas supplies to the United States.