    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [April 28, 2006]
    [Pages 820-821]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
    April 28, 2006

        President Bush. Mr. President, welcome. We've just had a really
    interesting visit. And we talked about the need to--for the world to see
    a modern Muslim country that is able to provide for its citizens, that
    understands that democracy is the wave of the future. And I appreciate
    your leadership, Mr. President.
        We, obviously, talked about Iran. I assured the President of my
    desire to solve this problem diplomatically and peacefully. I appreciate
    so very much the Government's contribution of support in troops to the
    new democracy in Iraq. I spent time describing to the President a
    meeting I had today via video conference with our Ambassador and General Casey--
    very important for me to bring our ally up to date on the progress
    that's being made on the ground there. I shared with him my hope that
    the national unity Government will help achieve the objective we all
    want, which is peace and democracy.
        And we, of course, talked about energy. And I appreciate the vision
    of the Government and the vision of the President in helping this world
    achieve what we all want, which is energy security. Azerbaijan has got a
    very important role to play. And we discussed internal politics, and we
    discussed politics of the neighborhood as well, particularly relations
    with Armenia.
        I appreciate very much the candid discussion. I thank you for
    sharing your thoughts with me, and thank you for our alliance. And
    welcome.
        President Aliyev. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I am very
    grateful for the invitation. I'm very glad to be in Washington and have
    an opportunity to discuss with you the issues of bilateral relations.
    I'm sure that our relations of strategic partnership will strengthen in
    the future.
        We covered all the aspects of our bilateral relations. We are very
    grateful for the leadership of the United States in promotion of the
    energy security issues in the region, in assisting us to create a solid
    transportation infrastructure which will allow to develop a full-scale
    Caspian oil and gas reserves and to deliver them to the international
    markets.
        We are allies in the war on terror. We've been, from the very first
    day, shoulder to shoulder with the United States in the peacekeeping
    operations in various parts of the world, and will continue to
    contribute to the creation of peace and stability in the region.
        Of course, the issues of resolution of Armenia and Azerbaijan,
    Nagorno-Karabakh are also in the center of our discussions. And we--I
    informed Mr. President with the latest status of the negotiations and
    expressed my hope that a peaceful settlement of the conflict will happen
    and will serve to the peace and stability in the whole region.
        In general, I'd like to say that I'm very satisfied with my visit,
    and I consider this as instrumental in the future development of
    Azerbaijan as a modern, secular, democratic country. We share the same
    values. We are grateful for United States assistance in promotion of
    political process, process of democratization of our society, and very
    committed to continue this cooperation in the future.
        Thank you very much, Mr. President.
        President Bush. One final word I forgot to mention. I do want to
    congratulate the President and the First Lady on the marriage of their daughter this weekend. It's a major sacrifice for the President
    to be here during the planning phases of the wedding. And we wish you
    and the First Lady all the best, and more importantly, we wish your
    daughter all the best.
        President Aliyev. Thank you, Mr. President.

    [[Page 821]]

        President Bush. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:49 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay
    Khalilzad; Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., USA, commanding general, Multi-
    National Force--Iraq; and President Aliyev's wife, Mehriban Aliyeva, and
    daughter, Leyla Aliyeva.