President Vladimir Putin will participate in the North Atlantic Alliance summit in Bucharest, where a reunion of the Russia - NATO Council will take place. The news was confirmed by the kerml.org website and came during the same day when the Dutch ambassador in Bucharest said that the Russian leader hesitates to participate, fearing that Georgia and Ukraine will be invited to join the Alliance.

Putin's participation was also confirmed by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, who added that Russia sees the NATO enlargement plans as not corresponding to the current reality. "The challenges are the same for everyone and a mechanical expansion of blocks inherited since the Cold War is not an answer. Not by assimilating territories, but through fighting along together, we can meet these challenges", said the official.

On the other hand, the White House confirmed that George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin will meet in Soci, on the Black Sea shore, on April 6, to discuss various problems, from the Iranian file to the European conventional weapons and the anti-missile shield.