Bush meeting with Medvedev Saturday

President Bush will meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday at 4:45 p.m., during a gathering of Asian and Pacific Rim nations in Lima, Peru, the White House confirmed Thursday.

It will be the first meeting between the two men since Mr. Medvedev assumed office in May. Mr. Bush met briefly with Mr. Medvedev in April, during a trip to Sochi, Russia.

The White House first announced Wednesday that the meeting would likely take place during Mr. Bush's three-day, two-night trip to Peru for the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

U.S.-Russian relations took a turn for the worse in August, when the Kremlin invaded neighboring Georgia, a former Soviet bloc country.

Mr. Medvedev has also made threats that Russia will counter a U.S.-planned missile defense system in eastern Europe with missile installations of their own in the region.

And Russia is sending a fleet of warships to the Caribbean to conduct joint exercises with Venezuelan vessels, in a show of unity between Mr. Medvedev and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, an ardent anti-U.S. populist.

Mr. Medvedev will leave the summit Sunday en route for a swing through Venezuela, Brazil and communist-run Cuba, in a trip aimed at thumbing the U.S. in the eye.

But the Russian leader, who many see as an extension of former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, also said last weekend that he hopes to have good relations with President-elect Barack Obama.