News / Politics
Washington and Moscow exchange angry words
President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged words over Bush’s accusation that Moscow was "derailing reforms." Putin defended his country saying Russia was "a democratic country that shares common world and common European values".
The United States plans to put a missile defense system in central Europe arguing that it will guard against attacks from places such as Iran and North Korea. Moscow says that the missile defense system is an "aggressive step" and it would "threaten its security."
Leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the U.S. are attending the Group of 8 summit at a resort on the Baltic Sea. Protests against the summit have become so violent, hundreds of police and protestors have been injured. Up to 16,000 police were sent to protect the leaders.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hosting the summit, and is trying to persuade leaders to agree to limit temperature rise to 2C reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent.
President Bush proposed the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to possibly be set by the end of 2008. Merkel met with Bush yesterday to try and negotiate a common ground on climate change. Merkel hopes the G8 will show other nations "the way towards negotiations" to find the Kyoto Protocol successor. The Protocol on capping emissions is backed by the UN and expires in 2012.
"We have to take action under a UN framework so that all members of the international community can participate in a binding manner," Merkel said.
Five other countries have been invited to participate in the summit which includes Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa.
