    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [November 18, 2002]
    [Pages 2104-2106]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With Russia's NTV
    November 18, 2002

    Chechnya

        Q. Mr. President, did the October hostage crisis in Moscow change
    the U.S. position on Chechnya?
        The President. No, our position on Chechnya is, we hope this can get
    solved peacefully, that this is an issue within Russia, and that I will
    continue to work with Vladimir Putin as best
    as I can to encourage him for there to be a peaceful resolution with the
    Chechnyan issue, the larger issue.

    [[Page 2105]]

        On the other hand, I recognize that anytime terrorists come to take
    life, a leader must step forward. And the fact that 800 citizens could
    have been killed by terrorists put my friend Vladimir Putin in a very difficult situation. And he handled it as
    best he could. He did what he had to do to save life. And people--I
    heard somebody the other day blame Russia. No, the people to blame are
    the terrorists. They need to be held account. I believe you can do both.
    I believe you can hold terrorists to account, killers to account, and at
    the same time solve difficult situations in a peaceful way.

    Former President Aslan Maskhadov of Chechnya

        Q. Mr. President, you say the leader has to come forward. So
    President Putin said that the leader of the Chechen group that took
    hostages, he was linked with former President Maskhadov of Chechnya, and
    that actually Maskhadov was aware of it. And therefore, President Putin
    said Maskhadov is an international terrorist.
        The President. Well, I haven't had a chance to talk to Vladimir
    Putin about these connections. But I am aware
    of the fact that there are killers moving around the world interested in
    holding people hostage, Governments hostage, and that we must work
    together to bring people to justice. It's one of the reasons why I'm
    working very closely with the Georgians, and I'm pleased to see Vladimir
    Putin is working with Mr. Shevardnadze
    to come up with a common strategy to route out the killers, the Al
    Qaida-type killers, which may be hiding in the Pankisi Gorge with one
    thing in mind, to bring instability to Russia. And so we're working
    together as best as we possibly can to bring people to justice.
        Q. But in the West people very often, in the United States in
    particular, say that one of the partners is Mr. Maskhadov in that
    political solution. After the October crisis, is that still an issue?
        The President. Well, I haven't had a chance to talk to
    Vladimir and see the facts that he's talking
    about. He obviously knows--you know, has got some information that we
    can talk about in St. Petersburg, and I look forward to discussing it
    with him.

    Pankisi Gorge Terrorists/Russia-U.S. Cooperation in the War on Terror

        Q. Well, Mr. President, you mentioned Georgia. President Putin
    immediately after the October crisis said that from now on, Russia is
    going to hit every terrorist target wherever it is; that means even
    abroad. Is that all right?
        The President. Well, it depends on what you mean by ``hit every
    target''--depending abroad. I mean, you know, I think what he's saying
    is, we're going to redouble our efforts to work together to bring people
    to justice. And that's what we're doing in Georgia. I have told Mr.
    Shevardnadze that if--you know, it's
    very important for him to be collaborative and to be prepared to bring
    people to justice if there are killers hiding in the Pankisi Gorge with
    the intent upon bringing--wreaking havoc in Russia or anywhere else, for
    that matter. They must be brought to justice. And slowly but surely,
    we're finding these people around the world.
        This is a different kind of war, see; that's what's unique. In the
    old days, we would fight armies that had tanks and airplanes and ships.
    These people are the kind of people that hide in caves and send people
    to their suicidal deaths. And so it requires a different kind of effort.
    It requires sharing of intelligence, cutting off money, having specially
    trained troops to go into dark caves or the dark corners of the world
    and bring these people to justice. You speak in the language of the old
    war. This is a war that requires a precise understanding of where these
    people hide, and the willingness to discuss intelligence like we've
    never discussed before to hunt them down.
        And that's what we're doing with Russia. I mean, our intelligence
    sharing is much better than it ever has been before. And

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    it's going to be good for both our peoples. And I keep reminding the
    American people that Russia is our friend and we're working in
    collaboration to hunt down those who would kind of hide in the shadowy
    corners and bring them to justice.

    Russian Interests in Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, one question on Iraq----
        The President. Sure.
        Q. ----which is now very sort of hot issue. If push comes to shove
    and a military solution is necessary, and if the current regime, Saddam
    Hussein's regime, is going to be toppled, are Russian economic interests
    going to be considered?
        The President. Well, first, I hope that all the ifs don't happen. I
    mean, I hope that Mr. Saddam Hussein disarms,
    like he said he would do. But the problem is, he said he would do it for
    11 years, and he hasn't done anything for 11 years. I mean, in the name
    of peace he should disarm. And so we're working with Russia and other
    members of the United Nations Security Council to send a clear message
    to Mr. Saddam Hussein that we expect you to disarm.
        If he doesn't disarm, then we'll disarm
    him in the name of peace. And of course, we'll be interested in all
    interests. We have no desire to run the show, to run the country. We
    will work to encourage the development of new leadership, should this
    happen, that will recognize the rights of all citizens that live in this
    country, that will keep the territorial integrity of Iraq intact. And we
    understand Russia has got interests there, as do other countries. And of
    course, those interests will be honored.
        Q. Thank you very much, Mr. President.
        The President. I'm glad you're here.

    Note: The interview was taped at 1:25 p.m. in the Library at the White
    House. In his remarks, the President referred to President Vladimir
    Putin of Russia; President Eduard Shevardnadze of the Republic of
    Georgia; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The transcript of this
    interview was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on November
    21. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this
    interview.