ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, July 15 (UPI) -- U.S. President Bush, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday blamed Hezbollah for the escalating violence in the Middle East.
At a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of Eight summit venue, Bush urged Syria to help ease tensions in the region and supported Israel's right to defend itself.
"We all want the violence to stop. But in my judgment, the best way to stop the violence is to understand why the violence occurred in the first place," Bush said. "And that's because Hezbollah has been launching rocket attacks out of Lebanon into Israel and because Hezbollah has captured two Israeli soldiers."
Putin denounced the abductions and rocket attacks and said Moscow considered "Israel's concerns to be justified." However, he added, the use of force "should be balanced."
Bush said Hezbollah should lay down its arms and release the Israeli soldiers.
"I call on Syria to exert influence on Hezbollah," he said.
Israel continued its bombing campaign on targets in Lebanon Saturday.
