US president acknowledges ties with Russia have weakened

President George Bush last night delivered a coded but pointed criticism of Vladimir Putin, questioning the Russian leader's commitment to democratic values. In the castle of Bratislava overlooking the River Danube, the US president emerged from a two-hour summit with Mr Putin to state that the rule of law, a free press, a viable opposition and protection of minorities were central and universal attributes of democracy. "I was able to share my concerns about Russia's commitment in fulfilling these universal principles," Mr Bush said. He qualified the criticism later by stating that Mr Putin had assured him that the Kremlin was fully committed to democracy. Despite a raft of US-Russian agreements on nuclear security, arms exports, counter-terrorism and trade and economic issues, the post-summit press conference by the two leaders was dominated by the issue of the fate of democracy in Russia. With snow falling on Bratislava's main square, Mr Bush expanded on his central second-term theme of democracy's global march, including passages clearly calculated to niggle Mr Putin.