U.S. President George W. Bush ended his official visit to Croatia Saturday and left for Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi to meet with his outgoing Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
This will be his final official meeting with Putin, who is wary of NATO's intention of expanding into Russia's backyard by trying to grant pre-membership status to the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine.
Bush ended his less than 24-hour visit to Croatia after meeting Croatian soldiers who have taken part in the NATO-led international force in Afghanistan and posing with them for a photo.
Earlier Saturday, Bush held talks with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and the two leaders pledged support for all Southeast European countries to be included into NATO.
Shortly before leaving Zagreb for Russia Saturday, Bush met with the leaders of the three American-Adriatic Charter member states -- Croatia, Albania and Macedonia, said the Croatian President's Office.
President George W. Bush (L) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin watch the sunset at the Bocharov Ruchei residence at the Black Sea in Sochi April 5, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
(L-R) Albanian President Bamir Topi, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, U.S. President George W. Bush, Macedonian President Boris Crvenkovski, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha pose for a group photograph after their meeting in Zagreb April 5, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
President George W. Bush poses with Croatian soldiers that served in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, at Zagreb airport April 5, 2008, before his departure. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)The participants in the meeting expressed their confidence that the dispute between Greece and Macedonia over the former Yugoslav republic's name would be resolved soon and that Macedonia would join Croatia and Albania in pursuing their strategic goal -- NATO membership.
Greece refused to approve the offer of a NATO membership invitation to Macedonia at the NATO summit Thursday, saying the latter had failed to act in a good-neighborly way by refusing to change its name.
Greece and Macedonia have been in dispute over the latter's name since 1991, when Macedonia declared independence from former Yugoslavia. Greece says that the name implies a territorial claim on its own northern province, also called Macedonia.
Bush arrived at Zagreb Friday from the Romanian capital of Bucharest, where Croatia, along with Albania, received invitations to join NATO on Thursday.
Source: Xinhua
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