Take that, Vladimir!

Even as he downplays concerns about tensions between the United States and Russia, President Bush is using a trip to Croatia to celebrate some of the differences that have caused those tensions before his final talks with outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Although the pair hope to announce a new “strategic framework” to guide relations beyond their time in office toward a less rocky future, Bush on Saturday is lauding U.S.-promoted developments in Russia’s backyard.

In a speech to an invited group of up to 7,000 Croatians in a public square in Zagreb, the president is extolling the virtues of extending NATO membership and spreading Western-style democracy throughout all of Europe, including former Soviet states.

Just hours later, he is traveling to Putin’s summer home at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the two men will cap an often contentious seven-year relationship that will come to end when Putin leaves office next month.

At a Saturday night dinner, and again in talks Sunday, Bush and Putin are expected to make nice, emphasizing the positive, such as the strategic framework and Russia’s agreement this week to allow shipment of nonmilitary NATO supplies to Afghanistan through its territory.

But in his Zagreb speech, Bush intends to congratulate Croatia and Albania _ both of which were under Moscow’s Cold War-era influence _ for the invitations to join NATO that they won this week. He is also urging a similar welcome for Macedonia, which snagged on Greek objections.

He is also expected to renew calls for NATO to open the admission process for Ukraine and Georgia, ex-Soviet republics whose aspirations to become part of the alliance are staunchly opposed by Russia.

In a victory for Putin, Ukraine and Georgia were snubbed at this week’s NATO summit, but Bush and his aides have been quick to point out that leaders of the alliance vowed to eventually open the path to joining, possibly as early as December. Putin’s victory, they say, may be short-lived.

In his Zagreb address, Bush describes NATO membership “as a vote of confidence and one that offers the promise of security and stability” for these once communist-run entities, according to White House officials.

In addition, the president plans to point out the success of initiatives he has promoted in the region, particularly democratization in the volatile Balkans, where the effects of the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia still roil relations between Washington and Moscow.

Most recently, the United States and many of its European allies rallied around independence for the Serbian province of Kosovo, which was strongly opposed by Russia.

Bush is also to discusses the importance of security and stability in the Balkans, noting that at their summit in Romania, the NATO leaders offered “intensified dialogue” to Bosnia and Montenegro, two other states that were once part of Yugoslavia.

Bush’s praise for the growth of democracy on Russia’s doorstep comes as his administration continues to harshly criticize increasing Kremlin authoritarianism. That is not likely to go unnoticed by Moscow.

The U.S. plan to deploy a missile shield in Europe, a concept that is vehemently opposed by Russia but won NATO leaders’ full support this week, is another source of friction between the two countries.