BERLIN, May 8: George Bush has a ‘warm’ working relationship with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, but is concerned about Russia using its economic clout in international politics, the US president said in an interview with a German newspaper on Monday.

“I, personally, have a working relationship with Vladimir Putin and that’s very important. I’ve got a warm relationship with him,” he told the country’s top-selling Bild newspaper, according to an English transcript provided by the White House.

“It’s a relationship where I can sit down with him and ask him direct questions as to why he’s made the decisions he’s made.

“It’s a relationship where he questions me about what the intentions of the United States may be. It’s one that I value.”

At the same time Mr Bush — who will meet Mr Putin and other world leaders at the Group of Eight summit of industrialised nations in St Petersburg in July — described Russia as a ‘country in transition’ politically.

“Russia is a country that has made some signals that are mixed signals, signals that allow, cause us to question, their commitment to whether or not they intend to become a true democracy,” the US president said.

Mr Bush also said he was concerned about the way in which Russia has used its economic leverage — especially as an energy exporter — in its relations with other countries.

“One of our concerns is economic nationalism, to a certain extent, where he (Putin) is using his oil companies to achieve what appears to be political objectives,” Mr Bush said.

“And we make our concerns known when someone uses natural gas, for example, to send signals to government.” The remarks came a few days after US Vice President Dick Cheney made headlines by accusing the Kremlin of restricting human rights and using oil and gas as ‘tools of manipulation or blackmail’ against neighbours.—AFP