Bush meets with Putin on Thurs (24th) --- that IS the meeting to watch !

[cthrumatrix]

Bush Seeks `Common Voice' With Europe on Middle East (Update1)

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush, who travels to Brussels tomorrow in a bid to improve relations with allies, said the U.S. and Europe need to speak with ``a common voice'' to promote peace and democracy in the Middle East.

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Bush said he would have ``frank'' words for Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two meet in Bratislava, Slovakia, Feb. 24 at the end of Bush's four-day European trip, which will include talks with French President Jacques Chirac, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

snip

Putin's statement yesterday that Russia will assist Iran's development of nuclear technology and continue military sales adds tension to the Bush-Putin meeting, said James Goldgeier, director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University.

``The timing of this, coming just before the summit, is provocative,'' Goldgeier said. Putin ``knows he is going to get beaten up over a few things in Bratislava, and one way to interpret this is that he is sending a signal that he is in charge, in control of his own affairs.''

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http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aPuC3bKP.y8M&refer=home

Putin is backing Iran ....and could tell bush to "pound sand". Watch what comes out.