President George W. Bush departed Washington on Monday for his last NATO summit and a final meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In what could be his last trip to Europe before leaving office in early 2009, Bush is expected to urge NATO members to provide more troops in Afghanistan, attempt to keep momentum in the alliance's eastward expansion, and try to ease tensions with Russia. Bush's first stop will be Ukraine, where he will try to reassure Kiev's reformist government over its aspirations for NATO membership. European partners are wary of allowing Ukraine and Georgia into the alliance because of opposition from Moscow. The U.S. president has backed the bids of the two countries to begin the NATO membership process, but he may not be able to overcome French and German objections at the April 2-4 summit in Bucharest, Romania. Another source of friction is NATO's role in Afghanistan. Bush wants a bigger commitment from NATO members reluctant to send soldiers to areas of heavy combat. A French offer of more forces has helped ease the dispute, but it remains unresolved. Bush's national security advisor, Stephen Hadley, speaking to reporters aboard the president's airplane Monday, said it was “pretty clear” the NATO summit would produce a strong statement about Afghanistan. “All of us need to do more in Afghanistan, and I think you're going to see countries … doing more,” Hadley said. He declined to say which countries would be contributing more. After the NATO summit, Bush will head to Russia for a final round of talks with Putin before he steps down as Russian president in May. The visit to Putin's Black Sea home is aimed at using their personal relationship to repair bilateral ties strained over missile defense, Kosovo independence, and possible NATO expansion. Hadley said Bush and Putin might resolve some differences over missile defense as they work on a “strategic framework” for bilateral relations to give to their successors. “This is a complicated relationship,” he said. There were areas in which the two sides were trying to increase cooperation but also “areas where we disagree, and we're trying to manage those disagreements.”
