U.S., Russia Continue Joint Efforts to Fight Terrorism
Remarks by President Bush and Russian President Putin in Photo Opportunity - Calgary
Kananaskis, Canada
7:54 A.M. (Local)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Wait a minute, please. I first want to say how
pleased I am to meet with Vladimir Putin again. Every time we meet we
have a very constructive dialogue, and we have a very important
dialogue. And I appreciate so very much his leadership and his
continued willingness to find a new common ground in this most
important relationship.
Yesterday a court in America made a ruling that I want to comment
on. America is a nation that is -- a nation that values our
relationship with an Almighty. Declaration of God in the Pledge of
Allegiance doesn't violate rights. As a matter of fact, it's a
confirmation of the fact that we received our rights from God, as
proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence.
I -- I believe that it points up the fact that we need common-sense
judges who understand that our rights were derived from God. And those
are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench.
Mr. President. Do you want to make a comment or just answer
questions?
(President Putin begins speaking.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Do you want to interpret this for the American
press?
PRESIDENT PUTIN: I want to say that I'm also very glad to meet
with President Bush. And moreover, I'd like to emphasize that the
President and I are having very good personal relations and our
colleagues in our capitals also note that interaction between our
countries is becoming very efficient, not only from the viewpoint of
bilateral relations and solving bilateral issues, but also as regards
to resolution of major international problems.
And there is one subject that is of particular importance and
responsibility the U.S. and Russia undertook; that is the promotion of
international security. And during the time since the signature of our
international treaties on stability, international stability between
our countries, we have had an opportunity to evaluate these documents,
and pass them to the parliament for further ratification -- I mean the
treaty between the United States and Russia on cutting strategic
offenses.
And I'm simply very glad to meet George again, and have a chat with
him and discuss all the problems that are of concern for both our
nations.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.
Patience, please. Terry.
Q Mr. President, there are some Democrats who think they can
make some political hay out of the WorldCom failure and other business
scandals by, first, noting that polls show a lot of Americans think
you're too close to big business, and second, arguing that because of
that, your reform proposals aren't tough enough. What do you think the
political impact of WorldCom will be? Are you concerned about it?
PRESIDENT BUSH: I'm concerned about the economic impact of the
fact that there are some corporate leaders who have not upheld their
responsibility. If you are a responsible citizen, and you run a
corporation in America, you must fully disclose all assets and
liabilities, and you must treat your shareholders and employees with
respect.
PRESIDENT PUTIN: During the general discussion at the G-8 meeting,
the President paid attention to this issue. And for me and my other
colleagues, it was very important to listen to the President's opinion,
because under the circumstances of the globalized community and world,
a lot depends on the state of the U.S. economy these days. And
therefore, the willingness of the President of the United States to
secure the Stock Market and market of the securities is very important,
as well as the notion of transparency in the U.S. business, and is a
very good signal.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Do you want to call on a Russian media?
Q President Bush, were you astonished by the European reaction
towards your proposal in regards to Arafat?
PRESIDENT BUSH: I'm very pleased with my -- the response to my
proposal in the Middle East. The response has been very positive. And
the reason why is most European leaders understand something has to
change in order for there to be peace. And that starts with free
elections, a new constitution, transparency, rule of law amongst the
Palestinians. And that's the hopeful way to get to where we need to
get, which is two states living side by side in peace. The response
has been very positive, and for that I'm grateful.
Q And one question to you, Mr. Bush.
MR. FLEISCHER: A question from the American reporters.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Martha.
Q Thank you, sir. In light of the comments you just made about
the Pledge of Allegiance, I'm wondering if you could talk about how
your personal faith has helped you as President.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I appreciate you saying that, Martha. I --
you know, yesterday when I went to see the -- or two days ago when I
was -- or yesterday -- (laughter.) Two days ago. I went --
Q Mr. President --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Please, let me at least finish the answers.
I was amongst people whose lives were hurting a lot. And I was
trying to figure out how to bring a sense of hope, and I thought that
the best thing I could say was that there is a God who loves them. And
I believe that's the case. And as a result, I feel comfortable in my
life because I have that belief and that understanding.
You know, it's interesting, there is a universal God, in my
opinion, and the first conversation I ever had with Vladimir Putin was
about God -- in Slovenia. It was a way that we -- we'd never met each
other, and the first discussion we had was about our personal beliefs.
I appreciate you hear me say that I appreciate the fact that our
country prays for me and Laura. And I do. I do, I feel the prayers of
the people. And so there is a -- I think that the Almighty is
important -- obviously, important part of my life, but very important
part of the life of our country. And that's why the ruling of the
courts was out of step with the traditions and history of America.
MR. FLEISCHER: Final question from a Russian reporter.
Q Mr. Bush, the G-8 was supposed to carry out the six points
having to do with terrorism. What is the relationship of the United
States and Russia vis-a-vis this battle against terrorism, jointly? I
only ask the Russian translation when you're speaking. Thank you.
PRESIDENT BUSH: It sounds like you speak better English than some
of us. (Laughter.)
Q Thank you very much.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Fournier included. (Laughter.)
First of all, President Putin has been a stalwart in the fight
against terror. He understands the threat of terror, because he has
lived through terror. He's seen terror firsthand and he knows the
threat of terrorism. One of the first -- go ahead, do you want to
translate?
He understands what I understand, that there won't be peace if
terrorists are allowed to kill and take innocent life. And, therefore,
I view President Putin as an ally, strong ally in the war against
terror. And his actions are more than -- speak louder than his words.
He has been a man of action when it comes to fighting terror, and I
appreciate that very much.
Thank you all. We've got to have our bilateral. Thank you.
Q (Asked in Russian, not translated.)
PRESIDENT PUTIN: What I would like to say that the military of our
nations and special services of our countries are built up in a way so
that they carry this global nature. And, unfortunately, terrorism is
of a global nature, as well, today. And, therefore, we have repeatedly
mentioned that joint efforts are essential if you want to be a success
in this fight.
Therefore, we welcome the firm position of the U.S. President in
this regard. And, therefore, we welcome his courage and consistency
with which he persists his policies, in spite of any elements that
interfere with that. And we expect that our interaction will have --
will make a significant and decisive contribution to the elimination of
terrorism worldwide.