ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that Russia needs to show commitment to a free press and other "basics of democracy", and cooperate with former Soviet republics such as Georgia and Ukraine where democracy is taking hold.

Rice, moving quickly through Europe on her first trip as US President George W Bush's chief diplomat, also said European diplomats seem eager to put in the past the estrangement caused by the US-led war in Iraq.

Ankara, Turkey - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during their meeting yesterday. Rice's session with Lavrov in Ankara was expected to help lay the groundwork for US President Bush's summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb 24 in Slovakia. (Photo: AP)

"I think what we're hearing from Europe is a desire to move on to the next chapter in this great alliance," she said earlier yesterday following a meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld in Poland.

Rice thanked Poland, one of the United States' most durable allies in Iraq, for placing troops in Iraq early and keeping them there.

Later yesterday, she sought to improve relations with Turkey, where anti-American sentiment has been strong since the start of the Iraq war. Turkey is terrified the war could lead to the disintegration of the neighbouring country and the creation of a Kurdish state in the northern areas.

That could embolden Kurds in southeastern Turkey, where the Turkish army has been battling Kurdish rebels since 1984, a fight that has left 37,000 dead.

"I'm here really in part to say to the Turks that we are fully committed, fully committed, to a unified Iraq," representing all political parties and ethnic groups, Rice said on the plane to Ankara.

After meeting with Rice, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "In terms of our strategic partnership, relations between Turkey and the United States are at a positive and mature point, and they will continue with the same maturity and in the same positive way."

Russia, also critical of the war, has retreated during President Vladimir Putin's tenure from some of the democratic advances since the collapse of communist rule. Putin has consolidated economic and political power and clamped down on the press.

"We have concerns, and we've made it clear, about internal developments in Russia," Rice said in Poland.
"It is important that Russia make clear to the world that it is intent on strengthening the rule of law, strengthening the role of the independent judiciary, permitting a free and independent press to flourish," Rice said.

"These are all the basics of democracy."
She said Russia is a valuable ally and partner in many areas, including the fight against terrorism and efforts to curtail the spread of nuclear arms.

"We've made no secret" of US displeasure, Rice told reporters en route to Turkey. "But we're not going to stop working on it, we haven't stopped talking about it."

Rice's eight-day tour is focusing on European ties and the prospects for peace in the Middle East. An additional goal is laying the groundwork for Bush's summit meeting with Putin on Feb 24 in Slovakia. While in Turkey for two days, she yesterday met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the summit.

The backsliding of democracy in Russia could become an irritant in Bush's second term and a sour note as the White House presses for expansion of liberty in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Bush's inaugural speech last month contained what was perceived as a warning by some nations, including allies or partners with imperfect democratic credentials.

"We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right," Bush said.

Rice said the United States had made its concerns clear to Russia even before that speech Jan 20, and she reaffirmed that the address was not intended to represent a dramatic change in policy toward allies.

Executive Class

Gardens with Gravel

Death to the Mullet!