For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 29, 2001
Remarks by the President and German Chancellor Schroeder in Photo Opportunity
The Oval Office
12:53 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: It's my honor to
welcome the German Chancellor here to the Oval Office. We've
just had a very constructive lunch. The briefers told me
that the Chancellor is a very straightforward person. They
were right, and for that I am grateful, because we were able to get to
the point.
And the first point we made -- and you'll see
this in the joint communique we issued -- is that our countries are
strong friends. I assured the Chancellor that my
administration will work to keep our relations strong.
We agree on many, many issues; there's a few
we didn't agree on. But as good friends, we can disagree
and, yet, still be friends. I appreciate the leadership of
the Chancellor. I appreciate so very much Germany's role,
for example, in trying to keep the peace in Macedonia. By
working together, we can stabilize that region. The
government of Macedonia is a government made up of different
factions. We, of course, are working together to make sure
that the legitimate rights of all people in Macedonia are recognized.
Germany has done more than just work the
diplomatic side, they've also provide troops in the KFOR, along with
the United States, to enforce the border. And as a result of
our joint efforts, there is good hope that the region will be
stable. And for that, Mr. Chancellor, thank you for your
leadership. It's an honor to welcome you here, sir.
THE CHANCELLOR: Thank you very
much, Mr. President, for those very kind words. Ladies and
gentlemen, now let me share with you how very pleased, indeed, I am,
that after having two phone calls so far, I now had an opportunity of
finally meeting the President in person.
Let me also share with you that it was a very,
very pleasant impression I had, indeed. It was wonderful to
see the degree of openness that we had, the frankness we had in the
meeting, and also the level of agreement that there was between us.
Mr. President is very right, indeed, when he
emphasizes the fact that the ties between the United States of America
and Germany are very, very firm. They're very friendly ties
which are, in fact, based on joint values that we share and that are
deeply rooted in each of our Constitutions, too.
Now, we have obviously addressed a wide range
of international topics, questions and international political
affairs. There was a lot of agreement. I can
agree with Mr. President, we agreed on practically everything, except,
obviously, for one thing, and that was no surprise to you, the Kyoto
protocol.
But here yet as well, we have different
opinions and we are happy to admit to you that we hold different
opinions regarding this. We were also happy to admit to one
another that we had different positions on this. But here,
too, we very much would like to see to it that we hopefully jointly act
on other fields in and around, on climate policy. We have
addressed the subject of solar energy, for example. We have
said that there would be ways of energy efficiency, of more efficient
use of energy as such. So we will be conjointly looking at
some topics that could all contribute to a better climate in the
future.
And to all of that, yet again, we have done on
the basis of this very, very friendly spirit that reigned between us; a
basis is not only one that can take the strain of this, but it will,
indeed, and happily so.
In a nutshell, one last thing I would like to
say. We are both firmly convinced that it is a prime aspect
of both of our jobs to make sure that the economies in our respective
countries are going well and strongly, and we have to keep them
robust. And where that is not the case, we have to get them
back on track.
THE PRESIDENT: We'll take two
questions from the Americans and two questions from the German press,
alternating. Q Mr.
President, on the Kyoto protocol, the friendly atmosphere here is not
matched in some statements in the German government in Berlin and in
other capitals. What's your reaction to the criticism that
you've abandoned the effort to contain global warming? And
what in particular don't you like about the Kyoto protocols?
And, Mr. Chancellor, what practical, pragmatic
effect will this difference of opinion have on the effort against
global warming?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first, I
explained this as clearly as I could to the Chancellor, and I'm glad to
do it again to you. I did so earlier in a press conference,
as you may remember.
Our economy has slowed down in a country -- in
our country. We also have an energy crisis. And
the idea of placing caps on CO2 does not make economic sense for
America. And while I worry about emissions -- and we'll work
together to achieve efficiencies through new technologies, and I'm
confident we can do that -- I'm also worried about the fact that people
may not be finding jobs in America.
And I will consult with our
friends. We will work together. But it's going to
be in what's in the interest of our country, first and foremost,
Terry. And the idea that somehow we're supposed to get
enormous amounts of natural gas on line immediately, in order to be
able to conform to a treaty that our own Senate sent a very
overwhelming message against and many other countries haven't signed,
makes no economic sense, it makes no common sense.
So I'm worried about our
economy. I'm worried about our own domestic energy
situation. But I'm confident we can find new ways to think
about reducing greenhouse gases. And I look forward to
working with a country like Germany. Germany is on the
leading edge of technology. They've got some of the greatest
engineers in the world. And together we can work together to
come up with new efficiencies.
THE CHANCELLOR: Obviously, those
are all the fields of cooperation which the President just mentioned
and which I, obviously, very highly welcome.
Regarding the Kyoto protocol, we have the
pleasure of hosting the successor conference to the one in the Hague,
in Germany this year. And, well, when it comes to that, His
Excellency, The President and his government will be called upon to
take a decision as to how they, to put it casually, want to play it
with protocol and with the ongoing conference in
Germany. Whether they will, on the one hand side, which
would be a possibility, give an opportunity to others to still continue
with what they think is right by not voting against it; or to not do
so.
Now, obviously, this is an issue for the
President and his country to decide. But we very strongly
have agreed that the conference, as I just said, is going to take place
I think in June or July, in Germany, that our respective staff are
going to get together and talk about the issue.
THE PRESIDENT: Somebody from the
German press?
Q How are the 14 EU
heads of state going to feel about the reaction that you just stated to
the Kyoto problem and to the President's attitude about
it? I would have so clearly expected you to be against it
and speak up against it, obviously, so how are they now going to feel?
THE CHANCELLOR: No, I certainly
have no headache about that whatsoever. I have heard what
the President has said regarding this matter. Not only I
have heard it, people in Europe have heard it, too. And some of the
European governments have heard it and have criticized it,
obviously. That is a normal process in
politics. And we'll take it on from
there. Obviously, we'll continue discussing these issues.
Q Mr. President, did
military matters come up today, specifically, missile defense, European
strike force?
THE PRESIDENT: Missile defense came
up, you bet. And we'll talk about the European strike force
after you clear the room. But I'm looking forward to it; our
joint communique addresses a lot of these issues.
I explained this to the Chancellor, that we
want to help folks think differently about the post-Cold War
era. And we want to develop defenses that are capable
defending ourselves; defenses that are capable of defending others, who
so choose to, against the true threats of the 21st
century. Russia is not our enemy. The true threat
of the 21st century is the extremists who can't stand what Germany or
America believes in. They resent our freedoms, they resent
our successes, they resent our prosperity. And I look forward to
working with our friend as we move down the road toward assessing and
addressing the true threats that face us.
I'll let the Chancellor speak for himself on
his view. But I've found there to be somebody who is at
least interested in our point of view and, for that, I'm grateful.
THE CHANCELLOR: Here, too, yet
again I can say that I cannot recommend taking a lump sum view, a
generic view, at whatever we're talking about. And we
shouldn't have a generic view regarding NMD or missile defense,
either.
Now, obviously, I think in assessing such a
comprehensive topic we also have to look at things like the defensive
potential that lies within a potential system. We have to
see the potential upside in terms of disarmament opportunities that
might be in there.
Obviously, we'll also have to look into lots
of technical aspects, such as the threat scenario that is behind the
whole system. Is it technologically feasible? Can
we truly implement it? Who is going to be covered under the
shelter? Who's going to be invited to be included by the
shelter that we're going to build? What are going to be
repercussions for the global disarmament process? What are
going to be the repercussions on Russia and on China, for example?
Those are all things that I think we need to
think about and talk about in an ongoing process. And I can
only say how very pleased, indeed, I was to see that the President
declared himself ready for an open, ongoing discussion about all of
these things.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, since Terry
asked two questions, it's over. (Laughter.)
Q Mr. President, were
you able -- concerning the U.S. defense system, would Europe and
Germany, as part of Europe, be able to contribute and to participate
in? Was that something you were able to offer and assure the
Chancellor of?
And, Mr. Chancellor, would you be able to say
that you'd be willing to participate when the time comes?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all,
it's my first chance to sit down with the Chancellor and explain our
philosophy, about how we're trying to shape the thinking in the
post-Cold War era.
I did explain to him what I've explained to
the American people, that not only do we need to develop defenses, but
we're also going to reduce our own offensive capability. And
maybe people will follow, maybe they won't. But we're going to move,
anyway, once the Defense Department puts a thorough review as to what
we need to keep the peace.
In terms of whether or not we develop a
technology that will help make Europe more peaceful or America more
peaceful or the Middle East more peaceful, whatever it is, I'd be more
than willing to discuss the technologies and share technologies with
our friends.
But we haven't gotten -- you know, today was
the first step toward me making the rationale as to why I took the
position I took. And the positive development I thought was
that the Chancellor was listening and understood -- I believe
understood the philosophy and the peaceful philosophy inherent in our
strategy.
THE CHANCELLOR: I think it would be
wrong at this point in time to assume that what we're trying to do here
is that we're kick-starting an armament process for the whole of the
world. My personal perspective is that I think the contrary
will be the case. And I think the debate about involvement
and who does what in the process is one that will come subsequent to
having discussed the general, basic things.
But then, certainly, when it comes to the
involvement and also participation in terms of industrial policy,
certainly we'll be interested.
THE PRESIDENT: Nice to see you
all.
END 1:11
P.M. EST
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