ST PETERSBURG, July 15: US President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin clashed on Saturday on democracy, with Mr Putin flatly dismissing his guest’s advice that Moscow be more like ‘like Iraq’.

“We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, I will tell you quite honestly,” Mr Putin said jokingly as the two leaders held a news conference, drawing audience laughter.

Moments earlier, Mr Bush had declared that it was wrong to ‘expect Russia to look like the United States’, but pressed Mr Putin on issues like the role of an independent media and suggested that Iraq might be a model to follow.

“I talked about my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world like Iraq, where there is a free press and free religion, and I told him that a lot of people in our country would hope Russia would do the same thing,” said Mr Bush.

The US president said he understood Mr Putin’s argument that ‘a Russian-style democracy’ was the best way forward for the country and added that his Russian host ‘shared with me some very interesting thoughts that I think would surprise’ Americans.

“He’s willing to listen, but he also explains to me he doesn’t want anyone telling him how to run his government,” Mr Bush said, adding: “He was elected.”

The United States has accused Mr Putin of backsliding on democracy, pointing to the Kremlin’s scrapping of direct election of regional governors, tightening of controls on non-governmental groups and media and curbing political parties.

Mr Putin has adamantly rejected the criticism, saying these and other changes are both democratic and modelled on laws long on the books in the United States and other Western countries.

The Russian president said he was prepared to talk with Mr Bush or any other foreign leader about development of democracy in Russia, provided the discussion were held in a ‘friendly and objective’ manner.

“No one knows better than we do how to strengthen our state,” Mr Putin said.

“But we also know that we cannot do this without democracy. We will of course do this on our own.”

Many of the changes Mr Putin is most harshly criticised for in the West were introduced in the wake of a series of revolts in several former Soviet republics near Russia that Moscow says were supported by financial backing from the West and that it wants to avoid.

Prior to Mr Bush’s arrival Friday in Russia, US officials had made clear that he would broach US concerns on democratic development in Russia with Mr Putin.—AFP