US President George W. Bush arrived in Washington late Saturday after a whirlwind five-nation European tour full of bonhomie, but somewhat lacking in tangible results.
While visiting five countries in six days, Bush laid out a vision for a post-Cold War Europe in which the line between East and West is erased, particularly for former communist adversary Russia.
"Russia and the United States must establish a new relationship beyond that of the old Cold War mentality," Bush said.
During his trip, Bush met with NATO and European leaders, and visited Poland and Slovenia, two nations that successfully transformed themselves from communist dictatorships to free-market democracies since the end of the Cold War.
Making his debut on the transatlantic stage, Bush visited Madrid, Brussels, Gothenburg, Warsaw and the ex-Yugoslav republic of Slovenia during his first official trip to Europe, which the White House hoped would boost his profile as an internationalist.
Attending his first NATO summit in Brussels on Wednesday, Bush claimed he was making headway in winning sceptical allies round to controversial US stances on missile defence and the expansion of the alliance further into eastern Europe – WASHINGTON (AFP)
