Bush, Merkel together on Middle East, Iran

ROSTOCK, Germany (AFP) - US President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called for restraint in the Middle East, UN action on Iran, and urged Russia to stick with democratic reforms.

Side by side in Merkel's Baltic home city of Stralsund, the two leaders celebrated an increasingly close friendship Thursday symbolically cemented here with a gift of herring to Bush and a shared barbecue of roast boar.

"I bring a message from the American people: We're honored to call the German people friends and allies," the US president said in remarks on the Old Market Square. "America and Germany stand side by side."

"We share common values and common interests. We want to work together to keep the peace. We want to work together to promote freedom. There's so much we can do, working together," he said.

On arriving in Stralsund, Bush kissed a beaming Merkel on both cheeks, shook hands with smiling Germans in the crowd, then accepted a small ceremonial barrel of herring and jokingly mimed eating one of the fish.

"This is a very good opportunity, indeed, to say a word of thanks," said Merkel. "We owe you a big debt of gratitude for being able to finally live within one country in peace and freedom; one country -- Germany."

At a joint public appearance later, the two leaders accused the Lebanon-based Hezbollah movement of sparking some of the worst Middle East violence in 10 years by abducting Israeli soldiers and firing rockets at targets inside Israel.

Bush pointedly defended Israel's "right to defend herself" but urged restraint, saying that "whatever Israel does should not weaken" the fragile government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

"My biggest concern is whether or not actions taken will weaken the Siniora government," he said. "Democracy in Lebanon is an important part of laying a foundation for peace in that region."

"The attacks did not start from the Israeli side, but from Hezbollah's side," said Merkel. "We call on the powers in the region to seek to bring about a de-escalation of the situation."

The two leaders jointly warned Iran that they were taking the dispute over Tehran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council and urged the Islamic republic to freeze sensitive atomic activities as a precondition for talks.

"I truly think they're trying to wait us out. They think it's a matter of time before people lose their nerve," Bush said. "I think they're going to be disappointed that this coalition is a lot firmer than they think."

"We have waited patiently and we have had no workable response from Iran. We have to see what the next steps will be if Iran continues to remain silent," said Merkel. "This may include sanctions."

The meeting came a day before Bush was to head to Russia for weekend talks with President Vladimir Putin and the July 15-17 Group of Eight summit of industrialized nations.

Bush said he would not lecture Putin publicly when they meet on what Washington says is Moscow's backsliding from democracy, but stressed that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must be allowed to operate in Russia "without intimidation" from the Kremlin.

"Nobody really likes to be lectured a lot. And, therefore, if you want to be an effective person, what you don't do is scold the person publicly all the time," the US president said.

"I'll be firm in my beliefs in certain democratic institutions, I'll be firm in my belief about the need for there to be an active civil society, and NGOs should be allowed to function in Russia without intimidation," he said.

Merkel urged Russia to ratify the International Energy Charter giving greater access to pipelines and energy supplies, which she said would provide "greater security" to world energy supplies.

"We have different ideas about how a pluralist society, a democratic society ought to work; that there ought to be a strong opposition is certainly one of the realities of life," said Merkel.

The press conference was not all serious: in response to one reporter's questions about Middle East violence and Iran's nuclear program, Bush joked about plans for an evening barbecue.

"I thought you were going to ask me about the pig," he said.