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Skriven 2006-07-05 23:49:04 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0607054) for Wed, 2006 Jul 5
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President Bush Welcomes President Saakashvili of Georgia to the White House
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 5, 2006

President Bush Welcomes President Saakashvili of Georgia to the White House
The Oval Office

President's Remarks view

˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Global Diplomacy

2:15 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BUSH: We'll have opening statements and a couple of questions.

First, Mr. President, welcome. I reminded the President about what a
fantastic visit I had to Georgia. Laura and I will never forget your
hospitality, we will never forget the food for which Georgia is quite
famous, we will never forget the fantastic folk dancing we saw. And then
I'll never forget our visits and the speech to the Georgian people. It was
a fantastic trip.

It was made fantastic because my friend not only was a good host, but he is
a man who shares the same values I share. He believes in the universality
of freedom. He believes that democracy is the best way to yield the peace.
The Georgian government and the people of Georgia have acted on those
beliefs. I want to thank you for your contribution in Iraq, to help the
Iraqi people realize the great benefits of democracy. It's hard work, but
it's necessary work.

We had a very good discussion about a variety of topics. I assured the
President that Georgia is our friend and we care deeply about the people of
Georgia. So a remarkable experience has taken place. I congratulate the
President and his government on creating an economic climate that fosters
growth and opportunity. I love the stories about the entrepreneurial spirit
that's beginning to flourish.

One of the interesting stories that captured my imagination is when the
President first came into office and he cleaned out the police forces in
order to rid the country of corruption in the law enforcement --
understanding full well that the people must trust security in order for a
society to flourish.

And so, Mr. President, you've got hard work ahead of you. You've tackled
problems with vigor and enthusiasm. But, most importantly, you've stayed
true to a philosophy that I admire. So welcome back to the Oval Office, and
please give your good wife all my very best.

PRESIDENT SAAKASHVILI: I will certainly tell Sandra. Mr. President, it was
an incredible honor for me to stand next to you in the Freedom Square in
Tbilisi. And I felt like it was, you know, after -- it was vindication for
all those Georgians, including my family members, who perished in gulag,
who died fighting for their freedom, their liberty, their independence.
And, basically, this was an incredible occasion because I'm also -- I've
studied diplomacy for many years, and I can tell you it was brilliant
exercise of self-diplomacy, the way you appreciated our culture, our
openness, our warmth. And we will certainly never forget it.

Georgia is, indeed, performing. It has strong economic growth. This is a
very beautiful country that attracts lots of investment now. We have low
tax rates, but we dramatically increased our tax collection, which means
that low taxes and less government is a very good thing to have, as you
well know.

So basically we are getting there. And one thing, you know, we discussed
with President Bush the upcoming G8 summit. And, certainly, there are lots
of issues that are at stake there and we believe very strongly in the same
values, in the same principles, and we are talking to the President -- to
the country which is the -- for Georgians, for generations of Georgians,
American freedom are synonymous -- they have been synonymous for me all my
life, when I lived under Soviets and after that. And it still stays very
much that way, because all freedom-loving people today, whenever they have
something to share with somebody, come to America. And this is a very
strong thing.

And one thing I can tell, Mr. President, your freedom agenda does, indeed,
work. I mean, you can see it in Georgia. We are seeing it in Iraq. And
please stay there, please fight there until the end. We will stay with you
there, whatever it takes, because your success in Iraq is success for
countries like Georgia. It's a success for every individual that loves
freedom, every individual that wants security, to live in more secure world
for himself, herself or their children. And whatever it takes to help you,
we are not a big country -- we are beautiful, small country with a lot of
attractions -- I invited you to come, I had mountain biking here yesterday
and I invited you to come over and have mountain biking in Georgia.

But one thing is important, that you know we really cherish the same
things. And I'm so honored to be here on Independence Day, and I watched
yesterday fireworks -- and around the time of your birthday. So happy
birthday. I'm honored to be invited now. (Laughter.) And God bless you,
America, Georgia, and the whole world. Thank you, very much.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thanks, Mr. President. Thank you. Deb.

Q Mr. President, on North Korea, how is it possible to punish a country
that is one of the poorest and most isolated in the world? And secondly,
had you been hoping for a stronger response from China?

PRESIDENT BUSH: The North Korean government can join the community of
nations and improve its lot by acting in concert with those who -- with
those of us who believe that she shouldn't possess nuclear weapons, and by
those of us who believe that there's a positive way forward for the North
Korean government and her people. In other words, this is a choice they
made. Yesterday, as you know, they fired off a series of rockets. The world
had -- particularly those of us in the six-party talks -- had asked for
that not to happen. It's a matter of good faith. The government made a
different decision.

And so it's their choice to make. What these firing of the rockets have
done is they've isolated themselves further. And that's sad for the people
of North Korea. I am deeply concerned about the plight of the people of
North Korea. I would hope that the government would agree to verifiably
abandon its weapons programs. I would hope that there would be a better
opportunity to -- for that government and its people to move forward. The
Chinese will play -- have played and will continue to play a very important
role in the six-party talks. It's my view that the best way to solve this
problem diplomatically is for there to be more than one nation speaking to
North Korea, more than America voicing our opinions.

And therefore, the five of us -- Russia, South Korea, Japan, China, and the
United States -- spoke with one voice about the rocket launches, and we
will work together to continue to remind the leader of North Korea that
there is a better way forward for his people.

Georgia.

PRESIDENT SAAKASHVILI: You know, regarding the -- I mean, I'm not
intervening off the agenda, but one thing I have to tell you, in Georgia
that I just sent over to President Bush the letter that Georgian freedom
fighters sent him seven years ago, and it never made it to the White House.
It was intercepted by KGB and all the people who wrote it were shot.

I'm sure lots of people out there in Korea are writing similar letters
today. And I'm sure that North Korean missiles will never reach the United
States, but those letters will, eventually, very soon, because that's a
part of the freedom agenda that President Bush has and we strongly believe
in.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Do you want to call on a Georgia? Please.

Q Georgia is planning -- to NATO. What do you think how can Georgia finish
this IPP process and get Membership Action Plan? And do you think that
Georgia should and will be a NATO member during your presidency? Thank you,
sir.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Listen, I believe that NATO would benefit with Georgia
being a member of NATO, and I think Georgia would benefit. And there's a
way forward through the Membership Action Plan. And we -- we'll work with
our partners in NATO to see if we can't make the path a little smoother for
Georgia. Georgia has got work to do, and the President understands that.
And I'm a believer in the expansion of NATO. I think it's in the world's
interest that we expand NATO.

Kelly.

Q Thank you, sir. On the North Korean missiles, what have you learned about
their intentions or their capabilities, and what threat level do you think
they still possess given that their intercontinental missiles failed?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I spoke with Secretary Rumsfeld yesterday. He called me
right after the launch, and he said they had preliminary information that
they are going to analyze about the trajectory of the larger rocket. The
other five rockets that were fired, the scuds, were -- their performance
was pretty predictable. It's kind of a routine weapon that some of these
nations have.

I asked him this morning, again, when I met with him about the information.
They're still analyzing, trying to figure out the intention of the North
Korean leader as to why he would have fired the rocket and what they were
trying to learn from it.

One thing we have learned is that the rocket didn't stay up very long and
tumbled into the sea, which doesn't, frankly, diminish my desire to solve
this problem. So the first part of your question is, we're still analyzing
what the intentions were. We're trying to analyze the data to determine
flight path, for example.

I view this as an opportunity to remind the international community that we
must work together to continue to work hard to convince the North Korean
leader to give up any weapons programs. They've agreed to do that in the
past, and we will hold them to account. And I also strongly believe that it
is much more effective to have more than one nation dealing with North
Korea. It's more effective for them to hear from a group of nations rather
than one nation.

And so today the Secretary of State, starting last night, the Secretary of
State has been in touch with counterparts. I, of course, will be on the
phone, as well. We want to send -- to continue to send a clear message that
there is a better way forward for the leader of North Korea. It's hard to
understand his intentions. It's hard to understand why he would not only
fire one missile that failed, but five others. So we're talking with our
friends and allies on the subject.

Q Mr. President, as you mentioned, you've faced a lot of important
challenges in many places, like Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea.
And at the same time, the whole world recognizes your personal role in
promoting democracy and freedom all around. And how do you think, is there
any chance that Georgia's aspiration to build free and democracy country
may be left off of your agenda?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Freedom -- I believe freedom is universal. And I believe
the spread of liberty is important for peace. And therefore, the freedom
agenda will be at the heart of everything I do. The freedom agenda is
ingrained in my -- it's not only ingrained in my policy, it's ingrained in
my soul. I believe it strongly. And I believe the United States has an
obligation to work with others to help them secure their liberty.

I understand that elections are only the beginning of the freedom agenda,
and that there's work needed to be done around the world, including our own
country, to continue to build strong institutions and build the
organizations necessary for a civil society to develop. Remember, ours was
a country that wrote a great Constitution but enslaved people for a hundred
years. It takes time. And so I understand that. And I want to work with our
friends that ask. Georgia is a sovereign government, and when governments
say, will you help, America must always listen to requests for help, and
specifically to Georgia.

One of the signature pieces of policy in my administration has been the
Millennium Challenge Account. It's a foreign funding mechanism that
recognizes countries that fight corruption, support rule of law, invest in
the health and education of their people, and adopt open markets. And one
of the most robust Millennium Challenge Account projects is with Georgia.
It's a sign -- should be a sign to the people of Georgia, and people in the
neighborhood, that the United States respects the decisions this government
has made, and wants to work closely with the people of Georgia to help
Georgia succeed, to help create the conditions for success.

And so to answer your question, yes, I've got a lot that comes to my desk
here, absolutely. I've got a lot to think about. But my friend, the
President, wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't have Georgia on my mind.
(Laughter.)

Thank you all very much.

END 2:36 P.M. EDT

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