[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[May 8, 2005]
[Pages 775-776]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Vladimir Putin of Russia in Moscow, Russia
May 8, 2005

    President Putin. Mr. President, allow me to cordially welcome you to 
Moscow. I'd like to thank you for having decided to visit Moscow to 
participate in the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the end of 
World War II, giving confirmation by that fact to the immense role 
played by the United States, Soviet Union, and Russian Federation in the 
victory over nazism.
    Tomorrow we'll be pleased to receive our guests of ours, but the 
visit by the President of the United States is of special importance. On 
top of that, even today, we've enjoyed a very large volume of 
cooperation between our countries. And I hope that this cooperation will 
be helpful to us in addressing our domestic problems in both countries.

    And I'm aware of the fact that you currently are confronted with 
immense tasks with respect to social sphere. [Laughter] So if we are 
very positive in addressing those energy-related and security-related

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questions, that will be very helpful in addressing the problems which 
are confronted by people in the street in our countries. Besides, I 
recently visited the Middle East. Therefore, I'd like in this 
conversation with you today to compare the notes regarding the current 
state of the Middle East.
    President Bush. Vladimir, thank you for having me. It's such an 
honor to be here. This locale where we are is a place where the 
President welcomed me and Laura 2 years ago, and 
it's great to be back here. I am looking forward to the celebration 
tomorrow. It is a moment where the world will recognize the great 
bravery and sacrifice the Russian people made in the defeat of nazism. 
The people of Russia suffered incredible hardship, and yet the Russian 
spirit never died out.
    I'm equally grateful that you would take--invite me and Laura for dinner tonight. And having had one of your meals 
before, I'm looking forward to this one a lot.
    President Putin. Recently I took a look at the coverage of your 
meeting with the press corps. Well, I could see how Laura attacked you 
sometimes, so at today's dinner we will have a chance to protect you. 
[Laughter]
    President Bush. She was quite the comedienne. 
But I'm looking forward to--Russia is a great nation, and I'm looking 
forward to working on--together on big problems. And I want to thank you 
for your work on Iran and the Middle East, and there's a lot we can do 
together. And so thank you for having us.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 7:45 p.m. at Novo Ogarevo, 
the Putins's residence in Moscow.