Bush says US, Russia agree on Iran, DPRK through "constructive" talks

US President George W. Bush said Thursday in Bratislava that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reached an agreement through "important and constructive" talks that Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should not have nuclear weapons.

"We agree that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon. And I appreciate Vladimir's understanding on that issue. We had a very constructive dialogue about how to achieve that common goal," Bush told reporters at a joint press conference with Putin.

"We agree that North Korea (DPRK) should not have a nuclear weapon," Bush said, stressing that the two governments would work together towards the issue.

Bush, who earlier held talks with Putin at a medieval castle in Bratislava for more than two hours, said that he and Putin also agreed on enhancing cooperation on nuclear security, fighting terrorism, boosting the peace process in the Middle East region, as well as Russia's entry to the World Trade Organization.

However, Bush told the news conference that he expressed his "concerns" over Russia's approach to democracy during the summit with the Russian leader.

Putin told reporters that he and Bush "see no alternative to the constant strengthening of Russian-US relations" and the two countries share interests in some strategic goals.

Russia and the United States must neutralize any attempts by terrorists to acquire weapons of mass destruction, Putin said, adding that the two governments have common opinions and approaches on Iran and the DPRK.

On Russia's state of democracy, Putin said Russia has made a final decision in favor of democracy and there could be no turning back.

However, Putin stressed that the principle of democracy should fit Russia present level of development and it should not come from outside.

On Russia's entry to the WTO, Putin said his country is ready for a reasonable compromise, adding that the compromises should not go beyond usual compromises in these types of matters.

Putin and Bush also issued a joint statement on Thursday to express common ground on keeping conventional and nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists and accelerating efforts by Russia to gain entry to the WTO.

Source: Xinhua