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Bush concerned by Russia freedoms

Meeting comes ahead of G-8 summit in Russia

President Bush accepted a barrel of herring as a gift.

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STRALSUND, Germany (CNN) -- U.S. President George W. Bush says he has concerns about freedoms in Russia, and plans to continue to express this view to President Vladimir Putin.

"I think our job is to continue to remind Russia if she wants to continue to have good relations she needs to share common values," Bush added at a news conference after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The two leaders were speaking on Thursday in the town of Stralsund, in what was once Communist East Germany, ahead of this weekend's G-8 summit in Russia.

"I've expressed my opinion to President Putin," Bush said. "You might remember my visit with him in Slovakia, where I was quite pointed in my concerns about whether or not there is a free and vibrant press in Russia.

"We share concerns about the ability for people to go to the town square and express their opinion and whether or not dissent is tolerated, whether or not there's active political opposition."

But Bush laughed off a comment by Putin directed at Vice President Dick Cheney.

Cheney in May accused Putin of backsliding from democracy and bullying Russia's neighbors on energy.

In an interview aired Wednesday on NBC's "Today Show," the Russian leader expressed irritation at Cheney's charge, made during a speech in Lithuania, that Russia was backsliding when it comes to democracy, and "improperly" restricting the rights of its people.

"I think your vice president's expression there is like his bad shot on his hunting trip," Putin told NBC, alluding to Cheney's accidental shooting of his friend, Harry Whittington, during a hunting trip in February.

"It was pretty clever," said Bush, who is due to meet Putin Saturday. "It was quite humorous, not to diss my friend the vice president."

Merkel and Bush said they want democratic reforms in Russia and would press that point in private. But they agreed not to publicly criticize Putin.

"Nobody really likes to be lectured a lot," Bush said.

Upon his arrival in Merkel's electoral district on Thursday, Bush received a gift from the people of the Baltic Sea town -- a barrel of herring.

Speaking in the old market square, Bush thanked the people of Stralsund for "giving Germany a fine chancellor" and praised the country's progress under democracy.

"For decades, the German people were separated by an ugly wall," Bush said. "Today your nation is whole again, the German people are at the center of Europe that is united and free and peaceful."

'Good rapport'

Merkel -- the first person from the east to become chancellor since German reunification in 1990 -- invited the president to visit her parliamentary constituency during a trip to Washington in May. Among their stops Thursday was Trinwillershagen, a town that was an agricultural cooperative during Communist rule.

The trip is Bush's first visit to Germany since Merkel, a conservative, became chancellor in November. But she has already visited Washington twice, describing her relationship with Bush as "a very, very good rapport."

German-American relations had been strained by the decision of Merkel's center-left predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, to oppose the U.S-led invasion of Iraq. But the two leaders have been expressing unity when it comes to Iran, agreeing that the Tehran regime cannot be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

In addition to his meeting with Merkel, Bush and first lady Laura Bush joined the chancellor for a visit to historic St. Nikolai Church in Stralsund before being feted at a German barbecue Thursday night.

En route to Germany, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush and Putin "still maintain a friendship," despite the concerns expressed by Cheney and other administration officials about Russia's democratic path.

"They also have made it clear that they have their own interests and that their chief obligation is to their publics," Snow said. "I think (they) have a very clear understanding of the ways in which they operate and how they can work together. And I think they're going to work very hard to get constructive results."

"I think it's important to President Putin to have a successful summit. We would like to help him have a successful summit."

CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry contributed to this report.

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