Russia derailing democracy, says Bush

US President George W Bush risked further stoking a testy dispute with Russia over a new US missile defence system yesterday, saying Moscow has “derailed” once-promising democratic reforms.

In a speech celebrating democracy’s progress around the globe — and calling out places where its reach is either incomplete or lacking — Bush said that free societies emerge “at different speeds in different places” and have to reflect local customs. But he said certain values are universal to all democracies, and rapped several countries for not embracing them.

“In Russia, reforms that once promised to empower citizens have been derailed, with troubling implications for democratic development,” Bush said, speaking at a conference of current and former dissidents.