    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 16, 2006]
    [Pages 1405-1408]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and an Exchange With Reporters in
    Strelna
    July 16, 2006

        President Bush. It's good to be here with my friend and our close
    ally. We just had a wide-ranging discussion. We talked about the Middle
    East, we talked about Iraq, we talked about Iran. I was pleased to
    inform and thank Tony for the good work in the United Nations on a
    unanimous resolution regarding North Korea.
        We talked about trade. We're both committed to a world that trades
    freely. All in all, it's a typical Blair-Bush conversation; it was wide-
    ranging and conclusive. And I appreciate your insight and your thoughts.
        Prime Minister Blair. Well, thank you very much, Mr. President. The
    President has indicated to you the subjects we discussed. And we went
    through basically all of the international agenda, as evidence of a very
    strong common agreement on the key questions.
        President Bush. Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

    [[Page 1406]]

    Situation in the Middle East

        Q. Israel's offensive in Lebanon appears to have no end in sight at
    this point. Are you willing to go along with Lebanon's call for a cease-
    fire?
        President Bush. One of the interesting things about this recent
    flareup is that it helps clarify a root cause of instability in the
    Middle East, and that's Hizballah and Hizballah's relationship with
    Syria and Hizballah's relationship to Iran and Syria's relationship to
    Iran. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, it's really important
    for the world to address the root cause.
        We, of course, are in continued discussions with Israel. All
    sovereign nations have the right to defend themselves against terrorist
    attacks. However, we hope that there is restraint as people respond. And
    one of our concerns, of course, is the fragile democracy in Lebanon. So
    in order to solve this problem, the international community must address
    the root causes, otherwise there may be apparent calm and then all of a
    sudden, there will be more conflict.
        Remember, Hizballah started this by capturing two
    Israeli soldiers and
    firing rockets into Israel. And as we talk about Hizballah, we must
    always remember that there is an issue in Gaza as well. And we've
    discussed this issue, and we will continue to work with the parties
    involved to solve that issue as well.

    Prime Minister Blair's Upcoming Meeting With President Vladimir V.
    Putin of Russia

        Q. Last night President Putin said that if you asked him about
    Russian democracy, he had some questions to ask you about Lord Levy. Do
    you feel that your ability to play a role in international states is now
    being seriously undermined by Lord Levy's activities?
        Prime Minister Blair. No, I don't. I think--I'm sure we will have a
    discussion not just about that but about the full range of international
    issues that we've been discussing including, obviously, the most
    pressing issue on the international agenda at the moment.
        Q. Do you expect him to raise Lord Levy with you?
        Prime Minister Blair. No, I'm not, frankly.
        President Bush. Keil [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News].

    Situation in the Middle East

        Q. Mr. President, you've talked here about your concern about the
    fragility of the democracy in Lebanon and the Prime Minister there
    calling for a cease-fire. Do you think that's needed now to protect his
    Government? And, if not, why?
        President Bush. My message to Israel is that as a sovereign nation,
    you have every right to defend yourself against terrorist activities.
    And again, I repeat, this started because Hizballah decided to capture
    two Israeli soldiers and fire hundreds of rockets into Israel from
    southern Lebanon. That's the cause of the crisis.
        And so our message to Israel is, look, defend yourself, but as you
    do so, be mindful of the consequences. And so we've urged restraint.
        Q. What about a cease-fire?
        President Bush. Well, it's really important; this is a moment of
    clarification. It's becoming clear for everybody to see some of the root
    causes of instability. I say, ``some of the root causes of
    instability,'' because there's still a militant wing of Hamas that wants
    to stop progress.
        But let's step back for a minute. We were making progress toward a
    two-state solution, two democracies living side by side in peace.
    There's a Prime Minister from Israel, Olmert,
    who is dedicated to a two-state solution. He comes to the United States
    and holds a press conference and says, ``I am dedicated. As a matter of
    fact, I am so dedicated, I'm campaigning on the platform that if need
    be, we will unilaterally make the decision that there's a Palestinian
    state.'' That's a remarkable statement. He also said that he is willing

    [[Page 1407]]

    to reach out to President Abbas,
    which he has done. He's also reached out to other nations in the
    neighborhood in order to make sure there's a negotiated settlement.
        As progress was being made, it obviously scared those who can't
    stand the thought of democracy. So you have the militant wing of Hamas
    act first, and then you had Hizballah act. And in order to solve this
    problem, Dick, the world must address the root causes of the problem.
        And so we have said to Israel--and we're in touch with Israel a
    lot--remember, there's a fledgling democracy on your northern border,
    which will ultimately help you achieve the peace you want. And today
    here at the G-8, we'll discuss this issue. And it's a--one of the
    interesting things about this moment is it's now become clear to a lot
    of people why we don't have peace in the Middle East. It's a moment of
    clarification. And therefore, it's a moment that requires all of us to
    work together to send a clear message not only to Hizballah but to the
    Iranians who finance Hizballah and to the Syrians who house Hizballah.

    G-8 Summit/Middle East

        Q. Mr. Prime Minister and Mr. President, do you get a sense among
    the other leaders who are gathered here today that you are all on the
    same wavelength when it comes to the Middle East? Or do some leaders
    have very different views about what's happening there?
        President Bush. I think most leaders are now beginning to recognize
    the root cause of the problem. Clearly, the Prime Minister does. And our respective political directors and foreign
    ministers and Secretary of States have been talking about this issue a
    lot. And there seems to be a consensus growing that in order for us to
    have the peace we want, that the world is going to have to recognize
    that there are terrorist elements who are dedicated to stopping the
    advance of democracy and peace. And therefore, we must deal with those.
    And I repeat, there are two nation-states that are very much involved
    with stopping the advance of peace, and that would be Iran, and that
    would be Syria.

    War on Terror/Situation in the Middle East

        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, can I just ask you on this: The Russians have
    said they feel Israel's use of force is excessive. What do you think of
    that? And could you just spell out exactly what influence the Russians,
    you think, have or could have in this situation?
        Prime Minister Blair. Well, I think everyone is going to work very
    hard to find a common and unified position. But the essential point is
    this: We all want the situation to calm down, and we want it to calm
    down because we're mindful of the need to protect Lebanese democracy,
    and we're also deeply mindful of the need to try to reengage people with
    the negotiated process towards a two-state solution, Israel and an
    independent, viable state in Palestine.
        Now the question is, how do we calm it down from this position now?
    And as the President was just saying a moment or two ago, the absolute
    essence of this, the only way we are going to get this situation calm
    and we're going to get the cessation of hostilities is if we address the
    reasons why the situation has arisen. And the basic reasons are that
    there are extremists who want to interrupt the process that can lead to
    that two-state solution--Israel with its security protectors, a proper
    independent Palestinian state--and there are also extremists backed, I'm
    afraid, by Iran and by Syria who want to disrupt the positions in
    Lebanon and who want to create a situation of tension and hostility
    there.
        So if we're going to make this work--and we've got the U.N. mission
    that is out there now, and that's obviously very important, and we
    support it--if we want to make this work, we have got to deal with those
    underlying conditions that have given rise both to the problem in the
    Gaza and the problems into Lebanon. And I hope

    [[Page 1408]]

    very much that everybody here, because we have a common position in
    supporting Lebanon and its democracy and supporting the security of
    Israel, and supporting the two-state solution, since we're agreed on
    those basic fundamentals, we should be able to agree on a position here.
    And I think it would be a very good signal to send out to the world at
    this moment that we can agree to such a position.
        I think that sometimes, for understandable reasons, there's been a
    hesitation in putting the real truth of this situation up to people, and
    the fact is, there are those out in that region, notably Iran and Syria,
    who do not want this process of democratization and peace and
    negotiations to succeed.
        President Bush. Let me just say one thing. You've triggered a
    brilliant thought. [Laughter] A couple of points--Kofi Annan is going to be here, and the United States, as well,
    supports the mission in the region. Secondly, of course, all of us care
    deeply about the loss of innocent life. And in thinking about that, I
    remember a year ago what took place during the G-8 hosted by Tony. There
    were terrorist attacks in London, and there was a loss of innocent life.
    And there was outrage, as there should have been, and a determination to
    work together to protect life.
        And that same determination must be applied to the Middle East as
    well. The terrorists will do anything to achieve objectives. They went
    into London subways. They'll fire rockets into Israel, all aiming to
    disrupt, to destroy, to prevent free societies from flourishing, because
    they don't agree with freedom. And the stakes are high, and the stakes
    have been clarified once again, during yet another G-8. And Tony and I
    will call upon our fellow leaders to come together and to make it clear
    that we reject this kind of violence and that we will be steadfast in
    our support of freedom.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:50 a.m. in Cottage Nine at the
    Konstantinovsky Palace Complex. In his remarks, he referred to Ehud
    Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, Israeli soldiers captured and held captive
    by militants in Lebanon since July 12; Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of
    Israel; President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority; and
    Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations. A reporter referred
    to Baron Michael A. Levy, Prime Minister Blair's personal envoy to the
    Middle East, who was arrested on July 12 in connection with a police
    investigation into possible infringements of honours and elections laws.
    A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
    remarks.