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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (162318)	7/18/2001 11:23:34 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769669

Bush Sets Out on Second Europe Trip Bush Arrives in London for Two-Day Visit By Ron Fournier AP White House Correspondent Wednesday, July 18, 2001; 5:25 PM LONDON –– President Bush went to Europe on Wednesday with deepened resolve to pursue his policies on missile defense and global warming – while playing down equally deep concerns those policies struck among European allies. Bush arrived in London on Wednesday, the first stop of his six-day visit to Europe, his second trip there as president. He was having lunch with Queen Elizabeth on Thursday and meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair before heading on to Italy for the annual summit of the world's seven largest industrial democracies, plus Russia. Blair spokesman Godric Smith said Wednesday that the two leaders would discuss, among other issues, Bush's plan for a missile defense system and his rejection of the Kyoto protocol on climate change, which Britain supports, along with the European Union. "I don't think there's any point in pretending that we have agreement on the issue," Smith said. "The prime minister will underline once again to President Bush that for the U.K. and the E.U., this is a significant issue." In an interview Tuesday with foreign reporters, Bush said he has tried to explain to allies that the Kyoto pact would have set emissions reduction standards that the United States "was unable to withstand." He said he would again seek to assure them that the United States will develop a responsible alternative. "Some leaders were more sympathetic than others, I must confess," Bush said. "Nevertheless, I do believe that people appreciated the frank assessment. And I believe they're going to appreciate the strategy that we lay out over time to help meet the needs. Each country has to make its own mind up as to how to proceed with this issue." Bush and Blair also planned to talk about U.S.-British cooperation on Kosovo, Bosnia, Macedonia, the Middle East, Iraq and Russia, Smith said. Bush was in Europe less than a month ago to attend NATO and European Union summits and meet, for the first time, with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bush expected to see Putin again at the Group of Eight meeting, along with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy. Security was stringent in the venue for this week's summit, the bustling Italian port city of Genoa. And Bush sought to take some of the steam out of the anti-trade arguments of demonstrators, saying their aggressive protest tactics do more harm than good to developing nations. "I think a lot of people in the world are just kind of sick of it," Bush said. "There is one thing to have an open dialogue. It's another thing to try and hurt and destroy. ... If they're trying to undo trade, it seems like to me their strategy and their philosophy will lock people into poverty. And I strongly disagree with them." The president said he was eager to talk missile defenses with Blair – and in coming days with Putin – so he can better explain "the philosophy behind my attitudes" that developing a missile shield, while shedding agreements reached during the Cold War with the former Soviet Union, is good and necessary. "I'm committing this nation to a more peaceful world by a realistic assessment of the threats," Bush said. "I firmly believe it's the right thing to keep the peace." Before leaving the White House, Bush greeted about 170 students from the Seeds of Peace Program, which fosters friendships among teen-agers from conflict-stricken parts of the world. While Bush shook hands with a throng of people gathered nearby, the students sang, "I am a seed of peace" over and over again. During the rest of the week, Bush holds a separate meeting with Pope John Paul II. He will also fly to Kosovo to share lunch with U.S. peacekeeping troops before returning to Washington. © 2001 The Associated Press washingtonpost.com