Deflecting mounting criticism, Bush rejects appeals to boycott the summit. “I need to be in a position where I can sit down with him [Putin] and be very frank about our concerns,” Bush said in late March at Freedom House in Washington.
布什不顾批评指责日盛，拒绝了联合抵制首脑会议的请求。“我需要一个位置，好坐下来和他[普京]一起，开诚布公地就我们的忧虑进行讨论，”三月末，布什在华盛顿的自由之家这样说道。