For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 30, 2004
President Bush and NATO Secretary General Deliver Remarks in Photo Opportunity
Remarks by the President and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Photo Opportunity
The Oval Office
2:00 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Secretary General, welcome. We are proud that
you're here. The Secretary General and I have had a good discussion
about NATO, my administration's commitment to a strong and vibrant
NATO, our mutual desire to make the world more peaceful through
freedom. I appreciate your willingness to discuss important theaters
like Afghanistan and Iraq, the need for us to make sure our militaries
are transformed and modern. I know that we will have a good working
relationship, and I know you'll do a great job on behalf of all of us
who treasure the NATO -- the NATO alliance.
So welcome, sir.
SECRETARY GENERAL DE HOOP SCHEFFER: Thank you very much. Thank
you very much, Mr. President. Also from my side, may I say that I
entirely share your opinion, as we discussed in our conversation. But
NATO is about values. NATO is defending values, which might be normal
for us, but our -- in other parts of the world, less normal.
And that's why we are in Afghanistan fighting terrorism. And NATO
is going to take a larger role in Afghanistan. That's what we
discussed. We have, of course, touched upon Iraq, the political
developments in Iraq, the upcoming 1st of May for the transfer of
sovereignty in Iraq, and a possible greater NATO role after that.
We discussed the Balkans. We have discussed NATO-Russian
relationship.
In other words, the full range of subjects NATO is dealing with,
defending these values as an organization which is undergoing a
fundamental transformation process, taking in, in a short time new
member states, seven new member states -- it's a matter of weeks --
transforming into an organization which can defend those values
wherever there is a necessity in the world -- be it in the Balkans,
where NATO has been very successful, be it in Afghanistan, be it in
Iraq, where NATO is now supporting the Polish-led multinational
division, and where NATO might take on a greater role when the
sovereign Iraqi government would ask NATO to do that.
So I very much enjoyed, Mr. President, my conversation with you.
And I'm sure that with your support, with the support of the United
States, and all the other NATO alliance, we are going to make this a
success.
Thank you so much.
END 2:03 P.M. EST
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