BRUSSELS, Belgium - President Bush faces a dilemma as he prepares to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Does he confront Putin for cracking down on political dissent, or does he emphasize the Russian leader's help in fighting the war on terror?

Russia could be an early test of the pledge Bush made in his inaugural address to push for liberty and freedom throughout the world.

Ahead of their meeting Thursday in Slovakia, their first of Bush's second term, Bush has expressed pointed, but measured, criticism of Putin.

"We're friends, and that's important," Bush told Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency. "Vladimir makes a lot of decisions. And I make a lot of decisions. And I like to talk to him about, 'Well, why did you do this? Or why did you do that?'"

But Bush sounded less charitable on Monday in a speech in Brussels intended to help reinvigorate the trans-Atlantic alliance and heal the U.S. rift with Europe over Iraq.

Referring to Putin's recent steps to consolidate power, roll back democratic gains and curb press and political freedoms, Bush told European leaders Monday:

"We must always remind Russia that our alliance stands for a free press, a vital opposition, the sharing of power and the rule of law. The United States should place democratic reform at the heart of their dialogue with Russia."

Bush also hinted in later comments with reporters that Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization, which the United States supports, could hinge on Moscow's commitment to open markets and an unfettered economy.

"This is a tough one," said Michael Mandelbaum, a foreign policy expert at Johns Hopkins University. "The drift of policy both within Russia and with its neighbors is clearly not to the liking of the United States. But this is probably not the optimal time - when you're enmeshed in Iraq and confronting Iran and North Korea - to pick another fight."

U.S.-Russian relations have been on a back burner during the Iraq war and the U.S. presidential election. During this time, Putin solidified his power, clamped down on civil and press liberties, used economic levers to make his neighbors increasingly dependent on the Kremlin, sought to influence Ukrainian elections and waged a campaign against the Yukos oil company and its founders.

The actions led some to wonder whether Putin was seeking to re-create the Soviet Union.

Bush told reporters he planned to raise such issues with Putin.

"Vladimir has made some decisions that I look forward to hearing - in a very private way, you know - why he made the decisions he did," Bush said.

On the other side of the equation is the reality that Russia has been an important ally in the war on terror and in efforts to stop the proliferation of nuclear technology. And as one of the world's major oil exporters, Russia also is a source of oil not tied to Middle East upheavals.

"The (energy) dialogue is, 'You've got a lot of it, and we don't have much,'" Bush jokes.

Both men have trumpeted a warm personal relationship begun on their first meeting in 2001.