[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[December 20, 2002]
[Pages 2207-2208]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 2207]]


Remarks Following Discussions With the Quartet Principals and an 
Exchange With Reporters
December 20, 2002

    President Bush. The Vice President and I are 
honored to welcome the Quartet principals to the Oval Office. I want to 
thank you all for coming. I appreciate so very much your working with us 
to move the Israeli-Palestinian issue forward to a peaceful resolution 
of what has been a longstanding conflict.
    I am strongly committed to the vision that I outlined on June the 
24th. I believe it is in everybody's best interests that there be two 
states living side by side in peace. And this Government will work hard 
to achieve that. And I want to thank you all for joining us in working 
toward that important vision.
    There are some keys to moving forward. All of us must work hard to 
fight against terror so that a few cannot deny the dreams of the many; 
that we must encourage the development of Palestinian institutions which 
are transparent, which promote freedom and democracy; that we must work 
together to ease the humanitarian situation. There's--too many 
Palestinian moms and dads grieve over the future for their children 
because of hunger and poverty, lack of health care.
    I appreciate the fact that the Quartet is working on what we call a 
roadmap. I view the roadmap as a part of the vision that I described. It 
is a way forward. It sets conditions. It's a results-oriented document. 
It is a way to bring people together so that they share their 
responsibilities.
    We're assuming our responsibilities. The people in the neighborhood 
must assume their responsibilities. All nations must be committed to 
peace in order for us to achieve peace, must be committed to the vision 
of two states side by side in order to achieve the vision of living side 
by side.
    The roadmap is not complete yet, but the United States is committed 
to its completion. We are committed to its implementation in the name of 
peace.
    I want to thank you all for coming. We're on our holiday season. It 
is the season of peace on Earth. We confirmed that today in this 
meeting.
    Kofi.
    Secretary-General Annan. Thank you very much, 
Mr. President. We've had a very good meeting this morning, and we are 
very close to finalizing the roadmap. And we believe that this is a 
roadmap that can help bring about the vision of two states, Israel and 
Palestine, living side by side. It will require sacrifices from both 
sides, and it will demand parallel steps by both states for us to be 
able to move forward.
    The Quartet has indicated that this roadmap and the approach of the 
parties has to be performance-driven; they have to perform. But it also 
has to be hope-driven. And I believe that this vision of two states 
living in peace and security will be the dream that will keep that hope 
alive. And all of us, working with our friends in the region, will work 
hard to ensure that we achieve this day within the 3-year period that we 
have set ourselves.
    And Mr. President, we want to thank you for your support. And I 
think working together we can all be able to achieve this objective. Our 
intention is to release the roadmap and give it to the parties as soon 
as possible. And I think the communique we'll be putting out will say 
clearly what we intend to do next. So I will pause here. Thank you very 
much.
    President Bush. Mr. Prime Minister, 
welcome. Good to see you, sir.
    Q. Mr. President----
    President Bush. Hold on a second, please. Some of our guests will be 
speaking.

[[Page 2208]]

    Foreign Minister Moller. Thank you very 
much, Mr. President. I'm very glad that you're so dedicated to the peace 
process in the Middle East. Your vision of the two states is very 
important. It's very important for the European Union that the people in 
the area know they will get two states which have to live quietly, 
peacefully, side by side.
    What we are trying to do is to pave the way to the two states. And 
that's why we have endorsed this roadmap and worked with this roadmap, 
because it's good thing with a vision, but you must know how to go 
there. And that is what we have been working at. And it has been a very 
good cooperation--the United States, Russia, the United Nations, and the 
European Union.
    And I think it's very important that Israel knows it will live there 
forever in security. But they can only have that security if they give a 
political solution to the Palestinians, that the Palestinians know that 
their day will come where they get the state, which make them sure of 
their future. They both have a future, and we have to help them with a 
future.
    Thank you, Mr. President.
    President Bush. Igor. In Ingles? 
[Laughter]
    Foreign Minister Ivanov. Thank 
you for receiving us, first thing.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir.
    Foreign Minister Ivanov. The 
second thing, before we had a lot of interest, good documents, but we 
couldn't implement. Now we have good document, and the most important 
thing is to implement. This is our main objective now. Thank you.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir. Very good.
    Sandra [Sandra Sobieraj, Associated Press], quick question.

Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, your administration concluded yesterday that 
Saddam Hussein pretty much blew his last chance to come clean on his 
weapons of mass destruction. Are we now on a path to war?
    President Bush. One thing is for certain: We will fulfill the terms 
and conditions of 1441. The world spoke clearly that we expect Mr. 
Saddam Hussein to disarm. Yesterday's 
document was not encouraging. We expected him to show that he would 
disarm. And as the Secretary of State said, 
it's--it's a long way from there. And we're serious about keeping the 
peace. We're serious about working with our friends in the United 
Nations so that this body, ably led by Kofi Annan, has got relevance as we go into the 21st century. And 
yesterday was a disappointing day for those who have longed for peace.
    Listen, I want to thank you all for coming.
    Q. Trent Lott question?
    President Bush. I would have, but we ran out of time. [Laughter] We 
ran out of time. They eat up your time. We had only so much time 
available. They ate up your time. I'm sorry. [Laughter]
    Q. You can drop by later.
    President Bush. We could do that; you're right. But we're due at 
Christmas parties.

Note: The President spoke at 2:31 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. Participating in the meeting were Secretary-General Kofi Annan of 
the United Nations, Minister for Foreign Affairs Per Stig Moller of 
Denmark, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Sergeyevich Ivanov of 
Russia. In his remarks, the President referred to President Saddam 
Hussein of Iraq. A portion of these remarks could not be verified 
because the tape was incomplete. The Office of the Press Secretary also 
released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.