    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [May 5, 2005]
    [Pages 754-756]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With NTV of Russia
    May 5, 2005

    World War II

        Q. Good morning, Mr. President, although it's good evening for
    Russian audience because of the time change. [Laughter] Your father is a
    World War II hero, the youngest Navy pilot. So how important the D-day
    is for you, personally, and for your family?
        The President. Well, thank you for asking about my dad. He is--he was a--like many in America and in Russia that
    were called upon to defend the world against nazism. And fortunately, he
    came home.
        And today, the celebration in Russia will remind us all about the
    sacrifices of, in my case, an individual I love, but also a generation,
    a generation of men and women who made extraordinary efforts, in
    Russia's case to defend the homeland, in America's case to work with
    allies to defeat Adolf Hitler as well as the Japanese.
        And so it's a special day for me, personally, because it reminds me
    of the willingness of a young kid to go fight. But it also reminds me of
    the duty of my generation to work together to make the world a better
    place.

    Eastern Europe After World War II

        Q. The after-war Europe has been reshaped according to the Yalta
    Conference of 1943, by the decision of three very important
    personalities of this time, Mr. Roosevelt, Mr. Churchill, and Mr.
    Stalin. How fair is it to hold only Russia responsible

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    for all the misfortunes of Eastern Europe and Baltic States over the
    last--[inaudible]?
        The President. Now, that's a very fair question. Obviously, it was a
    decision made at the end of the war. I think that the main complaint
    would be that the form of government that the Baltics had to live under
    was not of their choosing. But no, there's no question three leaders
    made the decision.
        Q. So not only Russia the bad guy of history?
        The President. Well, I think everybody ought to bear the--as
    historians look back at Yalta--got to recognize that it was--you're
    rightly so in pointing it out--it was not only the Russian leader but
    the British and American leader were at the table and agreed on the
    agreement.

    Baltic States

        Q. In Russia, we're very concerned on the rise of neo-nazism in
    Baltic States when Russian war veterans are humiliated publicly, when
    monuments to Russian soldiers are vandalized, and at the same time,
    where, on May 8th, there is a plan to open the monument to Nazi Brigade,
    that is well known only for fighting--not only for fighting against
    Russians but also for quite ugly things that were common for SS troops.
        The President. Yes. Well, look, there is--I've got a message when I
    go to the Baltics, and that is it's important to respect democracy but,
    also, the respect of democracy is respect for minority rights. In other
    words, a true democracy is one that says minorities are important and
    that the will of the majority can't trample the minority.
        And as to whether or not nations are honoring nazism, I mean, of
    course that should be rejected. Nazism was defeated. We're celebrating
    the defeat of nazism. We don't want to see nazism return. It's an
    extremist point of view that believes that you should be able to trample
    the rights of minorities. It was the Nazis who annihilated millions of
    Jews, for example, and there's a classic example of the rights of
    minorities being trampled. And we must never forget the lessons of why
    we fought together in World War II. And so I'm looking forward to
    delivering that message of tolerance.

    Gasoline Prices

        Q. There is a question that has nothing to do with your visit to
    Russia but is very important to our country as an oil-producing country.
    Once you mentioned that you'll be happy to find a magic wand and to cut
    the price on oil. So what oil price will be acceptable for the United
    States, and what do you think is the chance of finding this magic wand?
        The President. Well, I appreciate--no, there is no magic wand. A
    soldier asked me, he said, ``Why don't you lower gasoline prices,'' as
    if the government controlled price. And in our country, the Government
    doesn't control price. And I told him, I said, ``If I had a magic wand,
    I would wave it and lower your price.'' But I--that's not the way it
    works. This is a world based--the price based upon supply and demand.
    And demand has been going up relative to supply, which has been
    beneficial for oil-producing countries like Russia.
        And I don't know what the right price is. Obviously, the lower the
    better for our economy, because every time the money--the dollars go up
    on the gasoline price, money leaves the pocketbooks of the working
    people. But that's the way the economy works. Hopefully, higher price
    will stimulate more production. More production will then help the price
    reach an equilibrium.
        And the market is what it is. That's--the markets decide, not
    governments. I would hope that Russia would encourage a lot of
    investment, to open up the vast reserves she has. We need to do more
    exploration here. I spoke to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia who assured me that he is trying to
    put more--to find more oil. And that's what high prices do. But people
    who have got oil have got to understand if the price gets too high, it
    could wreck

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    economies, which will mean there's less purchasing power for the
    product.
        Q. Thank you, Mr. President, and welcome to Moscow.
        The President. Looking forward to it. Thank you, sir.

    Note: The interview was taped at 9:58 a.m. in the Map Room at the White
    House for later broadcast and was released by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on May 6. In his remarks, the President referred to Crown
    Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.