    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [June 27, 2002]
    [Pages 1071-1074]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Vladimir Putin of Russia and an Exchange With Reporters in
    Kananaskis
    June 27, 2002

        President Bush. First----
        Q. Okay, President Bush----
        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 dialog, and we have a very important dialog.
    And I appreciate so very much his leadership and his continued
    willingness to find

    [[Page 1072]]

    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 believe that it points up the fact that we need
    commonsense 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?

    [At this point, President Putin began his remarks in Russian.]

        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 [Terry Moran, ABC News].

    WorldCom/Corporate Responsibility

        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 it is a very good
    signal.
        President Bush. Do you want to call on a Russian media?

    Middle East Peace Proposal

        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

    [[Page 1073]]

    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.
        Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. A question from the American
    reporters.
        President Bush. Martha [Martha Brant, Newsweek].

    President's Personal Faith

        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. You
    know, yesterday when I went to see the--or 2 days ago when I was--or
    yesterday--[laughter]--2 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.
        Press Secretary Fleischer. Final question from a Russian reporter.

    Russia-U.S. Cooperation Against Terrorism

        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 [Ron Fournier, Associated Press] 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.

    [At this point, a question was asked in Russian, and no translation was
    provided.]

        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

    [[Page 1074]]

    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 make a significant
    and decisive contribution to the elimination of terrorism worldwide.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:54 a.m. in the Delta Lodge at the
    Kananaskis Village resort. A reporter referred to Chairman Yasser Arafat
    of the Palestinian Authority.