Bush Trip Winds Down In Georgia

President Bush arrived to a lavish welcome Monday in Georgia, a former Soviet republic looking to the U.S. as a powerful friend as it tries to maneuver out of Russia's orbit.

Mr. Bush was greeted in Tbilisi by giant billboards bearing his image, U.S. flags and a spruced-up city center. The freshly paved roads where Georgians kicked soccer balls a day earlier were emptied, as police shooed pedestrians away. But few complained.

"When the leader of today's free world turns his attention to you, you should be proud," said Katya Chichua, 50, as she surveyed workers laying intricately patterned rugs on a stage in Tbilisi's old town.

The White House has said the trip is a chance to praise rising pro-democracy sentiment in the former Soviet sphere — a movement Georgians proudly claim to have started with their peaceful 2003 Rose Revolution.

Earlier Monday, Mr. Bush took a place of honor in a once-unthinkable setting – amid symbols of Soviet power in Moscow's Red Square, as he saluted the greatest military victory of an empire formerly regarded as America's most-threatening enemy.

Goose-stepping Red Army troops belted out songs of the Second World War as they marched in celebration of the defeat of Nazi Germany 60 years ago, CBS News Correspondent Bill Plante reports.

Jet fighters roared overhead and elderly veterans evoked the memory of Russia's 27 million dead in the war. The Soviet hammer and sickle insignia streamed past the reviewing stand filled with world leaders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the Soviet Union's massive sacrifice, saying his country would never forget the debt owed to the tens of millions of Soviet citizens who died to defeat Nazism.

"I bow low before all veterans of the Great Patriotic War," said the Russian leader, using his country's term for World War II. He described May 9, 1945 — marked in Russia as Victory Day — as "a day of victory of good over evil, freedom over tyranny."

The ceremony posed some difficulty for Mr. Bush who has made democracy's spread the singular foreign-policy cause of his second term. Nonetheless, the two put aside their public sniping of recent days over postwar Soviet domination and present-day democratic backsliding in Russia.

Mr. Bush caused consternation among some Russian officials by preceding the Moscow ceremonies with meetings with the leaders of the Baltic states who are demanding an apology for Soviet annexation after World War II.Georgians, for their part, want Russia to withdraw two Soviet-era-holdover bases it maintains on their territory and to stop giving support to two separatist regions, aims that U.S.-educated President Mikhail Saakashvili hopes Mr. Bush will openly endorse during his visit.

Georgia also has declared its desire to join NATO and the European Union. While those goals are still far off for this impoverished nation of 5 million, an expression of support by Mr. Bush may help set into motion the process for the dreams to become a reality.

The United States for several years has provided training and equipment to Georgia's poorly funded military. Georgian troops now take part in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

"Now we have the privilege and honor to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S., sharing the gifts of liberty and democracy with our neighbors," Saakashvili said in a statement welcoming the U.S. delegation.

Saakashvili refused Russia's invitation to Monday's Victory in Europe Day celebrations in Moscow to protest Russia's reluctance to withdraw the two bases.

"It is because of Mr. Bush's visit that Saakashvili was able to do the right thing," said Shato Baliashvili, 81, whose chest shone with medals he earned for spending three years on the front lines in World War II with the Red Army.

In an interview with Georgia's Rustavi 2 television that aired Sunday night, Mr. Bush said Washington was ready to provide help on the bases dispute but emphasized that dialogue between Moscow and Tbilisi would bring the best results.

Political analyst Givi Bolotashvili said that simply by his presence, Mr. Bush will strengthen Saakashvili's hand by showing that he has the United States' moral support, which could lead to a settlement.

After face-to-face meetings with Saakashvili on Tuesday, Mr. Bush is expected to address the nation on Tbilisi's Freedom Square before departing. The president's visit also includes a bit of traditional Georgian hospitality, fitting for a nation famed for its tables laden with food and wine and which has elevated giving toasts to an art form.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the disorder that seized Georgia marred this nation's reputation as a resort destination, but many are hoping a successful visit by Mr. Bush will put Georgia back on the map.

"It is a big honor for us," said Nino Bakradze, 26, who spoke in hesitant English, which is fast replacing Russian as the foreign language of choice among students here. "It is giving a chance that we haven't had in years."