Bush democracy speech in Czech Republic may irk Moscow

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U.S. President George W. Bush plans on Tuesday to hail democratic strides made by former Soviet states like the Czech Republic, in a speech that may further inflame tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bush began an eight-day trip to Europe on Monday with his popularity at home at a low point over the Iraq war and tensions abroad over global warming and missile defense.

Visiting a country that broke free of communism with a Velvet Revolution, Bush will meet with Czech officials at the mediaeval Prague Castle.

Later, he will speak at a pro-democracy conference organized by former Czech President Vaclav Havel and ex-Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky.

It was unclear how far Bush will go in attacking the Kremlin over what the United States sees as moves to curb freedoms, but the White House made clear Russia would be mentioned in the speech, along with China.

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