US President George W Bush hailed Latvia's young democracy today in a visit that has revived tensions over Soviet domination of the Baltics and irked Moscow before celebrations of the 1945 victory over the Nazis.
Mr Bush held a summit with leaders of the Baltic states - Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania - in a show of solidarity with three nations that joined NATO and the European Union in 2004 after shaking off communist rule in 1991.
"It's such a joy to come to the country that loves and values freedom," Mr Bush told Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.
Mr Bush will give a speech about democracy later marking the start of a visit to Europe that has upset Russia ahead of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe.
Moscow has bristled at Bush's reference to a five-decade "occupation" of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union after the defeat of Hitler in 1945. The three Baltic states want Moscow to acknowledge that the defeat of the Nazis paved the way for oppressive Soviet rule in eastern Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has in turn accused the Baltic states of trying to divert attention from past Nazi collaboration. Baltic leaders say that only a tiny minority sided with Adolf Hitler during the war.
Ms Vike-Freiberga wrote in the Washington Posttoday that "Russia would gain immensely by ... expressing its genuine regret" its crimes. "Until Russia does so, it will continue to be haunted by the ghosts of its past, and its relations with its immediate neighbours will remain uneasy at best," she wrote.
But she said she would attend the celebrations in Moscow, adding that the victory over the Nazis - in which 27 million Soviet citizens died - "should be seen as a victory of democratic values over totalitarianism and tyranny."
Presidents of Lithuania and Estonia will boycott the ceremonies and the president of Georgia will also stay away. Mr Bush will leave Latvia later today for Holland and then visit Russia and Georgia.