Bush on G-8 trip to visit Pope, Eastern Europe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will attend the Group of Eight summit in Germany in June, pay his first visit to the Pope, and visit Eastern European countries where the United States wants to deploy a missile defense shield.

The week-long European trip will be centered on the G-8 Summit June 6-8 in Heiligendamm where Bush and leaders from Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Britain and Russia will discuss cooperation on economic, security, and political issues, the White House said.

Bush will also meet with leaders in Poland and the Czech Republic, where the United States is trying to deploy an anti-missile shield that Russia opposes.

The United States wants to put 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic to defend against a perceived threat from Iran and North Korea.

Bush will visit the Vatican on June 9 for his first meeting with Pope Benedict, and Rome for meetings with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

Bush will visit Prague on June 5 to meet with Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and speak at an international conference: "Democracy and Security: Core Values and Sound Policies."

After the G-8, Bush will go to Jurata, Poland, on June 8 for talks with President Lech Kaczynski.

He will travel to Tirana, Albania, on June 10, and complete his trip in Sofia, Bulgaria, on June 11.