[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[July 13, 2006]
[Pages 1386-1393]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's News Conference With Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in Stralsund
July 13, 2006

    Chancellor Merkel. Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be able 
to welcome the President of the United States here to Stralsund yet 
again. We had a lengthy conversation just now in the office of the 
mayor. We felt very much at home here in this beautiful city hall. We 
talked about all of the different issues on the global agenda.
    We shall later on see a little bit more of the countryside here, of 
the city itself. I am really pleased to be able to show to the President 
of the United States how matters have developed here, with some problems 
still existing but also what sort of problems we've coped with quite 
successfully. And it's such a great thing to have this lovely weather 
for our visits.
    Just now in our talks, we talked at great length about international 
issues. Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of problems that we need to 
deal with and for whose solution we feel responsible. The first and 
foremost on top of the agenda is certainly Iran. The international 
community actually submitted a very substantial, very fundamental offer 
to Iran, starting from the firm view that Iran should not be in 
possession of a nuclear weapon, but that, on the other hand, Iran should 
have--should know good development. So far we have not received any sort 
of reaction from the Iranian leadership as to how their position is on 
this offer.
    And this is why it was only consistent that yesterday the foreign 
ministers decided yet again to show clearly, also through a resolution 
in the U.N. Security Council, that should Iran not in any way reply to 
this offer and accept this offer, we unfortunately have to embark on a 
new course. The door has not been closed, but Iran must know that those 
who have submitted this offer are willing--and this is the success of 
yesterday's meeting--Russia, China, the E-3, and the United States of 
America,

[[Page 1387]]

all of them together are willing to act in concert and to show this 
clearly through their action in the Security Council.
    We also addressed the very disturbing situation in the Middle East, 
and it fills us with concern. And we have also stated clearly that 
everything needs to be done in order to come back to a peaceful 
resolution. We need to remind all of us again how this escalation 
started, with the kidnaping of a soldier, through rockets--for the 
firing of missiles against Israeli territory. And we can only urge all 
parties, appeal to all parties to stop, to cease violence, and to also 
release the kidnaped soldier and to stop this firing of missiles at 
Israeli territory.
    We would like to appeal to the powers in the region to see to it 
that further escalation is warded off and that, first and foremost, the 
root causes of this conflict are removed. And only in this way will a 
negotiating process become possible again. We have every interest in 
seeing the Lebanese Government be strengthened and this Government being 
able to pursue its policies in a sensible and secure environment.
    We also addressed matters of trade, global trade. Here we--and I'm 
saying this from a German perspective--have a common interest in seeing 
this world round be a successful one, this world trade round. But that 
means there has to be movement on all sides. And we're expecting a 
reasonable, sensible offer by the G-20, because this is where movement 
is necessary. Europe and others have submitted far-reaching proposals, 
and we would like to explore every possibility of these negotiations, 
but that means, as I said, movement on all sides. And here I see that 
the G-20 has to deliver.
    We also addressed those issues that will be on the agenda at the G-8 
in St. Petersburg. Here, first and foremost, energy policy, secure 
energy supply, was at the top of the agenda. We addressed African 
issues, Darfur and the Congo mission. We as Germans, as you know, have 
taken out a commitment as regards Congo. We also, however, see the 
situation in Darfur as a threatening one.
    We found that there is a lot that we agree on, as regards our common 
responsibilities, responsibilities that we see for the two of us the 
world over. And I, for one, think that as regards, for example, Iran, 
this responsibility ought to be shouldered by more and more countries--
that goes for Russia; that goes for China. It will only be if we act in 
concert that we will be able to vanquish the tyrants, remove 
dictatorships, and contain those who sponsor terrorism. And Germany 
would like to give its contribution to that.
    President Bush. Chancellor, thank you very much. Thanks for the 
invitation. This is a beautiful part of the world, and Laura and I are so honored to come to your constituency and 
meet some of the friendly people who live here. I remember you coming to 
the Oval Office, and you said, ``If you are coming to Germany, this is 
the part of Germany I want you to see.'' And now I can see why you 
suggested it. I'm looking forward to the feast you're going to have 
tonight. I understand I may have the honor of slicing the pig.
    We had a good discussion--it's more than a discussion; it's really a 
strategy session, is the way I'd like to describe it. We talked about a 
lot of subjects. We talked about the Middle East and Iran, and I briefed 
the Chancellor on North Korea. We talked about Iraq and Afghanistan as 
well.
    But when we talked about the issues, it's important for you to 
understand, we're really trying to figure out how to work together to 
solve problems. And I appreciate--appreciate the Chancellor's judgment a 
lot. It's an interesting conversation, you know, when you toss out what 
may seem to be a problem that's insoluble, and all of a sudden, two 
people start thinking about how to solve it, solve the problem. And 
that's what we're doing.
    You know, on the Iranian issue, for example, the last time that we 
were together,

[[Page 1388]]

we talked--spent a lot of time on Iran, and the Chancellor was wondering 
whether or not the United States would ever come to the table to 
negotiate with the Iranians. You made that pretty clear to me that you 
thought it was something--an option we ought to consider, which I did. 
And I made it clear to the Iranians that if they were to do what they 
said they would do, which is to stop enrichment in a verifiable fashion, 
we're more than pleased to come back to the table.
    There's no question that this issue can be solved diplomatically, 
and there's no question that it can be solved diplomatically with 
Germany and the United States strategizing as how to solve it. And I 
want to thank the Chancellor's leadership on this issue. It's really 
important for Europe to speak with one common voice. And it's important 
for Angela and myself to work with Vladimir Putin, which we will do at the G-8, to continue to encourage him 
to join us in saying to the Iranians loud and clear, ``We're not 
kidding; it's a serious issue. The world is united in insisting that you 
not have a nuclear weapons program.''
    We talked about the Israeli-Palestinian and the Israeli issues with 
Hizballah and our common desire to work together to help bring peace to 
that troubled region. My attitude is this: There are a group of 
terrorists who want to stop the advance of peace. And those of us who 
are peace-loving must work together to help the agents of peace--Israel, 
President Abbas, and others--to 
achieve their objective. You got to understand, when peace advances, 
it's in the terrorists' interests in some cases to stop it. And that's 
what's happening.
    We were headed toward the roadmap; things looked positive. And 
terrorists stepped up and kidnaped a soldier, 
fired rockets into Israel. Now we've got two more kidnapings up north. 
Hizballah doesn't want there to be peace. The militant arm of Hamas 
doesn't want there to be peace. And those of us who do want peace will 
continue to work together to encourage peace.
    We talked about North Korea. I assured the Chancellor that I'm 
committed to the six-party talks and that the five of us in the six-
party talks will work to convince North Korea to come back to the table. 
I'm hopeful that we can get some U.N. action on North Korea.
    We did talk about Doha, the trade round, and it's--look, these trade 
rounds are difficult to negotiate with. We've all got our own interests, 
but the good news is, we do share a common desire to open up markets. 
Germany is a great exporter. It's in Germany's interest that tariffs be 
reduced around the world. It's in our interests that tariffs be reduced 
around the world. And I committed to what I told the world back last 
September: We will reduce agricultural subsidies. But all we want is 
fair treatment when it comes to market access.
    I'm optimistic we can still get something done on the Doha round. 
It's going to take work, but G-8 is a good place for us to continue the 
dialog, and we will.
    And I guess that's about all--we discussed a lot of things, in other 
words. And thank you for having me. I'm looking forward to that pig 
tonight. [Laughter]
    I'll be glad to answer a couple of questions. Do you want to start 
her off?

Iran

    Q. Chancellor, you spoke about charting a new course as regards a 
response to the Iranian conflict. What new course will that be? You 
talked about the results of the foreign ministers' meeting where they 
will appeal to the Security Council. What sort of action will there be? 
Again, just a resolution that only demands certain things, or is the 
objective a resolution that will then actually threaten sanctions of a 
specific nature? This question is also addressed to the President.
    Chancellor Merkel. Well, essentially what we're talking about here 
is not a totally

[[Page 1389]]

new process; it's just another phase. We have waited patiently whether 
Iran will examine this offer and in which way it will react. So far we 
have not had any sort of reliable reaction. And for us, the precondition 
for talks has always been suspension of the enrichment activities, and a 
precondition for talks has always been, well, we will then, under the 
circumstances, not react with sanctions. But through this common action, 
we are now making clear, because we are not receiving a reply, that 
there will be a concerted action and that there will be specific steps. 
And we're defining what steps these will be if Iran continues to let us 
wait with its response.
    So we wanted to demonstrate yet again that the international 
community is willing to show resolve to pursue this strategy further in 
every direction. Iran has received a proposal that I think is a very 
substantive one, a very good one, one that is good for the development 
of its own country, of its own interests--is in its own interests. But 
if Iran should not reply, if they think they can prevaricate in the hope 
of the international community being split, then this proves them wrong. 
And this is why I am so happy about the conclusion of that meeting of 
the foreign ministers.
    President Bush. This notion that the Iranians must understand that 
they can't wait us out and can't hope to split a coalition--and so the 
first step is to go to the United Nations and speak with as common a 
voice as possible.
    Your question really is, how fast should the process move along? And 
my attitude is, the answer to that is, it should move as fast as 
necessary to make it effective, which is a nonanswer, admittedly. But 
the truth of the matter is, diplomacy takes a lot of work, and there are 
different interests involved here. We do share a common goal of no 
nuclear weapon and no program. And by the way, we've already sanctioned 
Iran, so we've got a different position than others. It's easy for me to 
espouse sanctions, since it's already a fait accompli. But we understand 
other nations have got--there's a pace to this diplomacy. And I assured 
the Chancellor that the United States will continue to work to make sure 
the process is steady as it moves forward.
    The key first step is--common goal, which is no nuclear weapon or 
program--and united message to the Iranians. I truly think they're 
trying to wait us out. They think it's a matter of time before people 
lose their nerve or a matter of time before different interests are able 
to influence the process. And I think they're going to be sorely 
mistaken. I think they're going to be disappointed that this coalition 
is a lot firmer than they think.
    It is in our interests to make sure they don't have a weapon. It 
would be dangerous if the Iranians had a nuclear weapon. And that's a 
recognizable fact now. So I appreciate the Chancellor's position on 
this.
    Yes, Terry.

Russia

    Q. Madam Chancellor, Mr. President--Terry Hunt with the AP 
[Associated Press]. Looking ahead to St. Petersburg, I'd like to ask 
you, do you think that Russia is honoring human rights and democratic 
freedoms and has a responsible approach to energy security?
    And, Mr. President, were you surprised by President Putin replying 
to Vice President Cheney's criticism, saying that it was an 
``unsuccessful hunting shot?''
    President Bush. Did I think it was a clever response? It was pretty 
clever. Actually, quite humorous--not to dis my friend the Vice 
President. I don't know, do you want to start 
with this? I'd be glad to--[laughter]. No, I think our job is to 
continually remind Russia that if she wants to do--have good relations, 
that she ought to share common values with us. We share common values; 
free press is a common value we share. And I've expressed my opinion to 
President Putin. You might remember my 
visit with him in Slovakia where I was quite

[[Page 1390]]

pointed in my concerns about whether or not there is a free and vibrant 
press in Russia. We share concerns about the ability for people to go to 
the town square and express their opinions and whether or not dissent is 
tolerated, whether or not there's active political opposition.
    And so I will continue to carry that message. My own view of dealing 
with President Putin, though, is that 
nobody really likes to be lectured a lot, and if you want to be an 
effective person, what you don't go is scold the person publicly all the 
time; that you remind him where we may have a difference of opinion, but 
you do so in a respectful way, so you can then sit down and have a 
constructive dialog.
    And that's exactly how I'm going to continue my relations with 
President Putin. I'll be firm about my 
belief in certain democratic institutions; I'll be firm in my belief 
about the need for there to be an active civil society, and NGOs should 
be allowed to function in Russia without intimidation. But I'm also 
going to be respectful of the leader of an important country. And I may 
not tell you exactly what I talked to him about in private, and I would 
hope that he wouldn't tell you what he talks to me about in private.
    But, yes, we've got issues. Listen, we've got common problems that 
we need to work together to solve--North Korea and Iran are two. And 
we've also got--I hope he continues to understand that it's in his 
country's interest to implement the values that Germany and Russia--
Germany and the United States share.
    Chancellor Merkel. Well, first, as to the issue of energy security, 
I can safely say that, looking at Germany over the past few decades, 
Russia has always proved to be a reliable supplier of energy. They have 
always abided by the treaties that we signed. But we would wish--and 
I've addressed this with the Russian President--that they actually bring 
the energy charter to its completion, that is to say, commit themselves 
to it, because then we would have a greater degree of certainty and 
security that we understand our common commitments on this.
    As regards--a strategic link between Russia and Europe obviously is 
of tremendous importance. It's important because we need energy supplies 
from Russia. And this is why we shall work towards Russia accepting that 
charter, that energy charter, so that we get a legitimate charter that 
is also based on contracts. But again, it has to be said that Russia has 
always been a reliable supplier.
    As to democracy and human rights, during my visit to Russia, I met 
with a number of representatives of nongovernmental organizations. We 
discussed what is desirable, what ought to be there as regards Russia's 
further development, and what needs to be addressed, time and again. And 
let me tell you that I talked to the President about these issues.
    I think also we ought to have an open, confidential dialog. We 
should not, sort of, speak loudly and in public about certain issues; 
that we have different ideas about how a pluralist society, a democratic 
society ought to work; that there ought to be a strong opposition is 
certainly one of the realities of life. There are differences of opinion 
between Russia and the European Union. We would wish for Russia to 
embark on a path that leads to a lively and very pluralistic political 
landscape, that they enter into a dialog with their civil society, which 
is at yet not there, for many reasons.
    But we would like to share with them, also, the experience that 
we've made with democracy, that pluralism in a democracy, last but not 
least, actually enhances stability in a country. And that is an 
experience that we have made, and that is a very strong force which 
drives reform processes forward. For example, we've seen that in German 
unity. It's sometimes complicated to bring those decisionmaking 
processes forward in a democracy, but then you receive the necessary 
legitimacy. And that is the experience that informs us in our talks.

[[Page 1391]]

Situation in the Middle East

    Q. A question addressed to you both. You talked about the Middle 
East, and what is your assessment of the military action of Israel in 
Lebanon? The French Foreign Minister already said it is 
disproportionate. Does that give you cause for Europe or the United 
States to intervene?
    And apart from the pig, Mr. President, what sort of insights have 
you been able to gain as regards East Germany? [Inaudible]
    Chancellor Merkel. Neither have I, but apparently a camera team was 
there when it was shot. So apparently it is already there, physically. 
[Laughter] I hope it's actually already roasting; otherwise, we won't be 
able to eat it tonight.
    Well, as to the violence in the Middle East, particularly as regards 
Lebanon, I think that one needs to be very careful to make a clear 
distinction between the root causes and the consequences of something. 
So we started here from a case of kidnaping of a soldier, and one of the 
other root causes, also, is the activity of Hizballah. And it's most 
important for the Israeli Government to be strengthened, but it is also 
clearly shown that these incursions, such as the kidnaping of soldiers, 
is not acceptable.
    And the parties to that conflict obviously have to use proportionate 
means, but I am not at all for, sort of, blurring the lines between the 
root causes and the consequences of an action. There has to be a good 
reaction now, not from the Israeli Government but from those who started 
these attacks in the first place.
    President Bush. ----to help calm the situation, we've got diplomats 
in the region. Secretary of State Rice, who 
is here, is on the phone talking to her counterparts. I'll be making 
calls.
    I gave you my initial impression earlier, and that is that it's a 
sad situation where--when there is a very good chance for there to be a 
two-state solution enacted--that is, two states living side by side in 
peace--it's really sad where people are willing to take innocent life in 
order to stop that progress. As a matter of fact, it's pathetic.
    And having said that, Israel has a right to defend herself. Every 
nation must defend herself against terrorist attacks and the killing of 
innocent life. It's a necessary part of the 21st century.
    Secondly, we--whatever Israel does, though, should not weaken the 
Siniora Government in Lebanon. We're concerned 
about the fragile democracy in Lebanon. We've been working very hard 
through the United Nations and with partners to strengthen the democracy 
in Lebanon. The Lebanese people have democratic aspirations, which is 
being undermined by the actions and activities of Hizballah.
    Thirdly, Syria needs to be held to account. Syria is housing the 
militant wing of Hamas. Hizballah has got an active presence in Syria. 
The truth of the matter is, if we really want there to be--the situation 
to settle down, the soldiers need to be returned, and President Asad needs to show some leadership toward peace.
    To answer your question about involvement, we will be involved 
diplomatically and are involved diplomatically.
    Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

Iran

    Q. Thank you, sir. Just to follow up----
    President Bush. Follow up on?
    Q. On both of these. Does it concern you that the Beirut Airport has 
been bombed? And do you see a risk of triggering a wider war?
    And on Iran, they've so far refused to respond. Is it now past the 
deadline, or do they still have more time to respond?
    President Bush. I thought you were going to ask me about the pig.
    Q. I'm curious about that too. [Laughter]
    President Bush. The pig? I'll tell you tomorrow after I eat it.
    The Iranian issue is--will be taken to the U.N. Security Council. We 
said that

[[Page 1392]]

we have--to the Iranians, we said, ``Here's your chance to move forward, 
and we'd like a response in a reasonable period of time.'' And we meant 
what we said. One of the important things about moving toward the 
Security Council, it shows that when we say something, we mean it. In 
order for--to help solve these problems, you just can't say things and 
not mean it. And so when we spoke, we said, reasonable period of time--
weeks, not months--that's what we explained to the Iranians. They 
evidently didn't believe us. And so now we're going to go to the 
Security Council, and we're united in doing that.
    Q. Their deadline has passed----
    President Bush. Their deadline passed, right. That's why we're going 
to the U.N. Security Council.
    Q. ----have time?
    President Bush. Oh, they've got plenty of time. I mean, the U.N. 
Security Council--they've got time to react. They've got time to make a 
decision. By the way, it's their choice. We've made our choice. It's the 
Iranian choice. And as Angela mentioned, there was an offer put on the 
table, a reasonable offer, for them to make the choice as to the way 
forward.
    And our choice is, look, we want to have relations with you, but 
you're not going to have a weapon or the capacity to make a weapon. It 
would be incredibly dangerous if we--5 years from now, Iran shows up 
with a nuclear weapon and threatens people in the neighborhood, and 
they're going to say, ``Where were you? What were you doing during that 
period of time?'' And that's what we're working on.
    And so time--when we said, weeks, not months, we meant it. And now 
we're heading to the U.N. Security Council. They can show up any time 
and say, ``Wait a minute. Now we'd like to go back and negotiate, now--
take a look at the interests.'' We're not precluding any further 
negotiations with the Iranians.
    In order for us to come to the table, however, what they must do is 
verifiably show that they're not enriching, like they said they would do 
earlier. This is not a--this is not a new statement by them. They agreed 
to this in Paris. All we're asking them to do is to honor what they said 
they would do in the past in a verifiable fashion.
    The rest of your four-part question?

Situation in the Middle East

    Q. Sorry about that, sir.
    President Bush. That's okay. It just--it's a bad habit.
    Q. Does the Beirut--the attack on the Beirut Airport, does that 
concern you, and are you concerned about triggering a wider Middle East 
war?
    President Bush. As I mentioned, my biggest concern is whether or not 
actions taken will weaken the Siniora 
Government. Democracy in Lebanon is an important part of laying a 
foundation for peace in that region. We have worked really hard to get 
Syria out of Lebanon--U.N. Resolution 1559 and its followup, Resolution 
1680, were manifestations of the work of the international community to 
get Syria out of Lebanon. We've always felt that a democracy in Lebanon 
is important for the Lebanese people, and it's important for the region.
    So the concern is that any activities by Israel to protect herself 
will weaken that Government. And we have made that--or topple that 
Government--and we've made it clear in our discussions.
    Having said all that, people need to protect themselves. There are 
terrorists who will blow up innocent people in order to achieve tactical 
objectives. In this case, the objective is to stop the advance of 
peace--which is a remarkable statement, isn't it--willing to kill to 
stop peace.
    We have a good chance to get a two-state solution, two democracies 
living side by side in peace. It is a clear and achievable vision. There 
is a way forward called the roadmap to achieve that vision. What will 
prevent that vision from being achieved

[[Page 1393]]

is--are terrorist activities, and that's what you're seeing taking 
place.
    Thank you all.
    Chancellor Merkel. Thank you.

Note: The President's news conference began at 12:34 p.m. in the Town 
Hall. In his remarks, he referred to President Vladimir V. Putin of 
Russia; President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority; Gilad 
Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured and held captive by militants in 
Gaza since June 25; Prime Minister Fuad Siniora of Lebanon; Ehud 
Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, Israeli soldiers captured and held captive 
by militants in Lebanon since July 12; and President Bashar al-Asad of 
Syria. A reporter referred to Minister of Foreign Affairs Philippe 
Douste-Blazy of France. Chancellor Merkel spoke in German, and her 
remarks were translated by an interpreter.