Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Russian Oil/Freedom

Yesterday (3/21/2005), in Brussels, President Bush urged European leaders to put more pressure on Russia to maintain democratic freedoms, saying:

We must always remind Russia, however, that our alliance stands for a free press, a vital opposition, the sharing of power, and the rule of law -- and the United States and all European countries should place democratic reform at the heart of their dialogue with Russia.


On the evening news, it was suggested that European countries are reluctant to take tough stands with Russia because many of those countries are heavily dependent on Russia oil.

It's good to see President Bush taking a tough stand, uncowed by the politics of oil.

But I wonder when he will apply the same toughness to his friends in the Saudi royal family?