    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [May 31, 2007]
    [Pages 669-671]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With Eberhard Piltz of Zweites
    Deutsches Fernsehen, Germany
    May 31, 2007

    U.S.-EU Cooperation on the Environment/Upcoming G-8 Summit

        Mr. Piltz. Mr. President, the German Presidency of the G-8 has put
    the focus for the next meeting on climate change and what to do about
    it. Europeans want fixed caps. You have been opposed to that all the
    time. Now you announced a new proposal. Have you changed your position?
        The President. First, let me, if I might--I think that my friend
    Angela Merkel, for whom I have great respect,
    wants to discuss a lot of matters, whether it be HIV/AIDS or malaria or
    hunger, depravation, as well as climate change. And I'm looking forward
    to it; I really am. I've been to this beautiful part of Germany before.
    It's a beautiful part of your country.
        No, I've always taken the issue seriously. I've told the American
    people and those who are willing to listen that I take climate change
    seriously. And today I talked about a post-Kyoto framework in which the
    world can discuss this issue in a serious fashion.
        Angela was concerned at one time whether
    or not I'd be willing to accept a post-Kyoto framework, and today I
    expressed my keen desire to work with her and other leaders on such a
    framework. And I also suggested that a good first step toward achieving
    serious accomplishments would be to have the major emitters gather and
    set a goal, an international goal by the end of 2008. And I'm very
    serious about that. I'm looking forward to working with G-8 partners and
    others.
        I think one of the breakthroughs that I hope we can achieve in
    Germany at this G-8 is to get India and China as participants in setting
    an international goal. And what that goal is, that will be determined as
    a result of these meetings. But Angela should
    be proud of leading the international community toward these kind of
    breakthroughs.
        Mr. Piltz. Though this is the beginning of a process, at the end of
    which there could be fixed goals?
        The President. There would be a goal, absolutely. And that would be
    determined by the major emitters, the major greenhouse gas emitters.
    Generally, sometimes people--some sit around the table and come up with
    what they think is the best solution. My view is, is that they need to
    get the United States, China, India, the EU, Russia, other countries as
    well around the table and say, okay, we agree on a goal. And each nation
    needs to come up with a way to achieve that goal.
        And listen, the truth of the matter is, the best way to achieve, in
    our case, a couple of national objectives--energy security and economic
    security, as well as being good stewards of the environment--is a strong
    push for technologies. And I'll bring a very good record to the G-8.
    We've spent a lot of money here in the United States on developing clean
    technologies. We're driving a lot of our automobiles now with corn-based
    ethanol. That gets us off of oil, which is good for economic and
    national security, and it helps with the environment.

    Missile Defense System

        Mr. Piltz. Missile defense, sir--the harsh Russian reaction on U.S.
    plans on missile defense signals some sort of deterioration in
    relations. Are we headed back to colder times?

    [[Page 670]]

        The President. Yes, that's a really good question. I certainly hope
    not. Our message to--and my personal message to Vladimir Putin is, there's no need to try to relive the cold
    war. It's over. And we don't view Russia as an enemy, we view Russia as
    an opportunity to work together. We don't agree with every decision
    Russia has made. She doesn't agree with every decision I have made. But
    I have worked hard to make sure that we can find common ground on issues
    like proliferation and dealing with Islamic radicals and Iran or North
    Korea.
        You know, Vladimir Putin has spoken
    out very strongly on missile defense. And so frankly, it--I visit with
    Angela quite often, and one of the things she
    talked to me about, is there not a way to open a dialog with President
    Putin on missile defense? So I sent Bob Gates, our Secretary of Defense, there, and my message to
    Vladimir Putin--and it will be when I see him at the G-8 in Germany as
    well as here in the States--is, you don't have anything to fear. As a
    matter of fact, this system is aimed at protecting NATO allies, and if
    you want to participate, we would like you to participate with us. We'll
    be totally transparent in the technologies that we're deploying. We want
    you to come and inspect our sites. We want you to talk to our military.
    We want to be wide open because this system is not geared toward Russia;
    it's geared toward a rogue state that may be able to acquire a nuclear
    weapon.

    Russia-U.S. Relations

        Mr. Piltz. You mentioned Angela Merkel's role. Is there a role for
    Germany in this difficult dialog, as a bridgebuilder or something like
    that?
        The President. Well, it sounds like to me, Angela has had some pretty difficult dialogs herself as the
    leader of the EU. And I think the key thing is for Angela and me to work
    closely together to have a--when we can in dealing with Russia. But each
    nation has to deal with Russia in her own terms. I don't need any help
    dealing with Vladimir Putin, and he
    doesn't need any help dealing with me. We're sovereign nations; we have
    our positions.
        One of the things that I have worked hard to do is to--and received
    some criticism here in the States--is, I've worked hard to have a
    personal relationship with Vladimir Putin
    so that when I discuss things with him, I can find areas of agreement,
    but I've also got a relationship such that I can bring up areas of
    concern without rupturing relations. And it's--you know, some have
    suggested, well, there's no need to have relations with Russia. Well, I
    strongly disagree with that. I think it's important for the U.S. and
    Russia to have relations.

    War on Terror

        Mr. Piltz. Sir, how satisfied are you with international burden-
    sharing in the war on terror?
        The President. Good, it's good. As a matter of fact, the coalitions
    are much bigger than anybody could have envisioned. You know, one of my
    concerns, however, is that, just in general, people don't take the
    threat seriously. In other words, they say: ``Well, there haven't been
    many attacks; there's been a few attacks; but we shouldn't be that
    worried about it.'' I'm deeply worried about it, and I really strongly
    believe the free world ought to be worried about radicals and extremists
    who will kill in the name of an ideology.
        See, I view this as an ideological conflict between people who are
    willing to murder and want to spread their vision, and those of us who
    believe in liberty and the universality of liberty. And so my main worry
    is complacency over the long run. I am pleased with the cooperation at
    this point in time. We've got great relations with Germany. Obviously,
    if we know of a plot that may be taking place in Germany, we will share
    information on an instant basis, and vice versa. And that ought to be
    comforting to the German citizens.

    [[Page 671]]

    Germany-U.S. Relations

        Mr. Piltz. That was my next question, the state of the relationship
    between America and Germany. Are we back to, as your father put it,
    ``partners in leadership''?
        The President. I think we are. First of all, I had a decent
    relationship with Gerhard Schroeder. I
    never bore any--look, there was a difference on Iraq, obviously; it was
    a clear difference on Iraq. But that didn't cause me to say, well,
    Germany isn't worthy as a worthy ally. Quite the contrary, I felt
    Germany always was a worthy ally and an important ally for the United
    States and an important player in Europe.
        Angela Merkel comes at a different time in
    our relationship. She's a woman who I--for whom I've got great
    admiration. I don't know if you know this or not, but she and I, we
    speak by secure video on a regular basis. And that's what strategic
    partners do, and our discussions are important discussions. She
    understands the issues very well. She's the kind of person that can get
    a fellow to talk freely and candidly, and she speaks the same way to me.
    And I admire her a lot. I would say our relations are vital, and they're
    strong right now. And that's the way I intend to keep it.
        Mr. Piltz. Thank you very much, sir.
        The President. Glad to have you. Looking forward to coming to your
    great country again.
        Mr. Piltz. I'll be there too.
        The President. Yes, sir. [Laughter]

    Note: The interview was taped at 3:27 p.m. in the Map Room at the White
    House for later broadcast. In his remarks, the President referred to
    Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of
    Germany; and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. The transcript was
    released by the Office of the Press Secretary on June 1. A portion of
    this interview could not be verified because the tape was incomplete.