Bush phones Medvedev after Russian election win

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush telephoned Russia's Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday but appeared to stop short of offering the customary White House congratulations to the president-elect.

Russian news agencies reported earlier in the day that Bush called and congratulated Medvedev, the protege and successor of outgoing President Vladimir Putin, on his victory in a Sunday election that has been criticized by Western observers.

But U.S. accounts of the Bush-Medvedev conversation had no reference to the kind of White House congratulations routinely offered to newly elected foreign leaders.

"I'm not going to get into the word game about congratulations or not-congratulations," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters when asked whether congratulations had been offered.

"Our position about the Russian elections leading up to it (the phone call) has been well-known and our concerns were expressed from the beginning."

Relations between the United States and Russia have been rocky during Putin's tenure and the two countries have clashed over issues ranging from Kosovo's independence to Iran's nuclear program. Putin steps down in May.

Medvedev was elected with 72 percent of the vote and has pledged to pursue the policies of his mentor Putin, whom he has asked to be prime minister in his new government.

Western observers have criticized the election as neither free nor fair but said its outcome broadly reflected the will of the people.