BUCHAREST, Romania — It's our first morning here with President Bush, but it's already shaping up to be an interesting three days at the NATO summit.

There is a fascinating interplay of sorts developing between the U.S.-Russia relationship and the U.S.-Transatlantic alliance. President Putin appears to be driving a wedge between the U.S. and its usually strong allies in Berlin and Paris (under their new leaders Merkel and Sarkozy). My piece up on the website now leads with this:

The looming vote tomorrow to enlarge NATO over Russian objections accelerated yesterday into a showdown between the Bush administration and some of its strongest trans-Atlantic allies, with neither side backing down.

President Bush, just days before his final meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as head of state, vowed to counteract Russian influence on the expansion eastward of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

One personal note. It's a real privilege to be on this trip with the Post's Peter Baker and the New York Times Steven Lee Myers, both of whom have significant experience in this part of the world, having interviewed many of the players and gained real insights.

It's only 1:30 in the morning back in Washington, but as I type this I'm sitting in the National Bank of Savings waiting for a speech from Mr. Bush to a group of a few hundred men and women mostly dressed in business suits. The official line is that the audience is made up of folks from two groups: the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and The Atlantic Council of the United States.

We also see a sign on one of the chairs for the Young Atlanticists Summit.

Lastly, I forgot to post this picture yesterday from Kiev, of a street sealed off waiting for the president's motorcade to pass through.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times