The White House says U.S. President George Bush will meet with his
Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, during next week's Group of Eight
summit in Japan.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says the two are to discuss missile defense and Russia joining the World Trade Organization.
She
says Mr. Bush also looks forward to learning more about President
Medvedev's domestic priorities for strengthening rule of law in Russia
and exploring ways to reduce tensions and build peace and security in
the region, including in Georgia's separatist region of Abkhazia.
She
says Mr. Bush is to also meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
to discuss a U.S.-India civilian nuclear cooperation initiative,
climate change, trade talks, agriculture, and Asia-Pacific democracy.
Mr. Bush departs Washington Saturday for the three-day summit in northern Japan that begins Monday.
In
comments from the White House Wednesday, Mr. Bush said the summit will
address a host of critical world issues, including energy supplies,
food shortages and climate change.
He said he also will urge
the other G-8 nations - Japan, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Canada
and Italy - to make good on previous pledges of large-scale
international efforts to fight malaria, AIDS and other deadly diseases.
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