The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, is in Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and leading officials. He travelled there from Georgia, where he attended the swearing-in of the new president, Mikhail Saakashvili. Powell said he will call on the Russians to speed up the withdrawal of their troops from Georgia. He added that he would have an open and candid discussion with Putin over the state of Russian democracy. Critics have pointed to recent authoritarian moves by the Russian leadership, accusing it of using resources and control of the media to dominate last month's parliamentary elections.

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