Bush - Putin Meeting Preparations Well Underway (from Slovenia Weekly, 5 June 2001, vol. 8) Preparations for the meeting between the US and Russian Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin, to be held in Slovenia on 16 or 17 June, are well underway. Led by a special organising committee, the preparations are going according to plan and focus on organisation of the whole event, ensuring high security and on establishing a large information network to provide all the necessary information at any time to the media and public. The first meeting between the US and Russian Presidents, regarded as the most important event to have ever taken place in Slovenia, continues to be the subject of reports by the world's media. The Russian-US summit scheduled for 16 or 17 June in Slovenia will be extremely important for both Moscow and Washington, as well as for international stability in general, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on 29 May in Budapest. Given that this will be their first meeting, Presidents Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush are to discuss key bilateral issues and international relations, chiefly strategic security, Ivanov said about Russia's expectations of the Ljubljana summit. Ivanov spoke at a press conference following a session of the NATO-Russia permanent council. According to an Itar-Tass report, Putin and Bush are also to discuss the situation in the Middle East at the summit in Slovenia. Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel met with his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov on 30 May on the margin of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council meeting in Budapest to discuss preparations for the Bush-Putin summit in Slovenia. Rupel and Ivanov agreed to keep in touch as regards ongoing preparations for the summit. Rupel reassured his Russian counterpart that Ljubljana will do its best to make sure everything is well prepared and organised. The two officials also discussed relations between the two countries, saying they were good and that Rupel's visit to Moscow, scheduled for 6 July, will be another opportunity to improve relations, especially in terms of economic co-operation. Their talks in Budapest also touched on the situation in SE Europe. Preparations Running to Plan The first ever meeting between US and Russian Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin is to be held in Slovenia on 16 or 17 June. Bush will be on a tour of Europe from 12 to 16 June and, at the end of that tour, he will come to Slovenia to meet with Russian President Putin. The meeting in Slovenia will be hosted by President Milan Kucan and Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek. Preparations for the summit are being carried out by a special organising committee headed up by Interior Minister Rado Bohinc, whilst his deputy is Rudi Gabrovec from the Office of the Prime Minister. The committee also includes representatives of ministries involved in the project. Preparations for the Bush-Putin summit are currently very intense and are running to plan, so that everything will be ready for the summit, according to the Slovenian organising committee. The meeting's location has not yet been officially declared. There are four possible locations: Ljubljana, Brdo pri Kranju, Strmol and Bled. The location will be determined in co-operation with American and Russian representatives. The visit also poses a great challenge in terms of security, therefore accelerated preparations are underway in the Slovenian Police. A special co-ordinating committee, including the most senior representatives of all police services - from expert to logistic - and headed by the Director of the Uniformed Police Administration Stanislav Veniger, is preparing the security plan. According to the Slovenian Police, the priority is to ensure an undisturbed meeting and the security of both the participants and residents. The Slovenian Police has extensive experience with visits by top foreign state officials, including two visits by Pope John Paul II, the meeting of the presidents of Central European countries and the visit by former American president Bill Clinton. Large Information Network Preparations for the event are also in full swing at the Government PR and Media Office. Representatives of this Office, RTV Slovenija and the EBU have already inspected the possible venues, and a special Internet site for foreign and local journalists covering the event is also being organised. At the web site of the Government PR and Media Office at http://www.uvi.si/eng/new/projects/meeting/ one can already find the first information on the accreditation procedure for journalists, TV teams and photo-reporters who will follow the American-Russian summit. The American, Russian and other foreign and Slovenian journalists will need accreditation for any participation or reporting on the Bush - Putin meeting. Applications for accreditation should be sent to the Government PR and Media Office by fax. Forms to apply for accreditation can be obtained from the Internet, on the home pages of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia (www.gov.si/vrs), the Government Public Relations and Media Office (www.uvi.si/eng) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.gov.si/mzz). Forms can also be obtained from Embassies of the Republic of Slovenia, and from the Government Public Relations and Media Office, and they will be sent to all permanently accredited foreign journalists based in Slovenia. Procedures to accredit journalists at the Government PR and Media Office began on 1 June. American and Russian journalists coming to Slovenia in the retinue of the two presidents will probably be accredited through the appropriate American and Russian services. The exact location of the press centre has not yet been agreed. Wherever the meeting is to be held, the Office will in any case organise a central press centre in Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana, with all the necessary communications infrastructure including the possibility of viewing TV transmissions from the scene of events. If the meeting is held outside Ljubljana, the Government PR and Media Office will organise a mini press centre at the location itself for journalists attending the giving of press statements or news conferences.