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Wednesday, 13 June, 2001, 18:20 GMT 19:20 UK
Bush in Europe
![]() George W Bush visited a series of European countries in his first major foreign trip since becoming US President. But his tour was far from a relaxing break. His tough positions on the global economy and on the environment are directly at odds with many European countries. And he faced a difficult challenge winning support for his plans for a missile defence system. Anti-American protests marked much of his trip.
16 June - Slovenia
President Bush meets the Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time. Both men spoke positively about the frankness of their exchanges, agreeing to visit each other's countries for future summits. On the controversial issue of US missile defence, however, there was no progress other than an agreement to keep talking.
15 June - Poland
President Bush receives a warm welcome in Poland, where he presses the case for expanding Nato. Speaking in Warsaw, Mr Bush said it was "time to put talk of east and west behind us." He said America was committed to extending Nato to include former Communist states.
14 June - Gothenburg
The European Union and the United States fail to resolve their disagreement over the Kyoto protocol on global warming. As the summit proceeded, environmentalists and anti-globalisation activists clashed with Swedish riot police in Gothenburg.
13 June - Brussels
The heads of goverrnment of all Nato's member states were in Brussels as President Bush visited the alliance's headquarters. He took the opportunity to try to persuade Nato leaders to support his controversial missile defence shield, saying western countries should be prepared for new threats to their security from rogue states.
12 June - Spain
President Bush made a gaffe by mispronouncing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's name, but the right wing Spanish leader became the first European to back his controversial missile defence plan. Bush did, however, have to put up with protests outside the US Embassy over issues including his refusal to stick to the Kyoto treaty on the environment.
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