    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [June 5, 2007]
    [Pages 681-685]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With President Vaclav Klaus and Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek of the Czech Republic in Prague, Czech Republic
    June 5, 2007

        President Klaus. Ladies and gentlemen, unusually, there are three of
    us here, but our meetings took on a platform of the Prime Minister of
    the Czech Republic participating. And what we wanted to show by that was
    that with regard to the United States, the opinions of the President of
    the Republic and of the Prime Minister are identical. This was to
    demonstrate that.
        We are happy about this is the second time we can welcome here the
    American President in the course of his office. He is the first American
    President to be here for a second time in his term. And we are also
    happy about he is actually starting his visit to Europe here.
        We regard his visit as a confirmation of a traditional friendship
    between the Czech Republic and the United States, a friendship that has
    always been confirmed in the key moments of the previous century: in
    1918, in 1945, and in 1989. We very much appreciate the U.S. friendship.
    There are things to follow up on, and I suppose this visit has brought
    new, enriching aspects to our friendship.
        We've exchanged information on the situation in our respective
    countries and on the situation throughout the world. We are aware of the
    fact that the U.S. is highly responsible for the world's development at
    the moment, and I would like to emphasize that President Bush and the
    U.S. enjoys the support of the Czech Republic in that regard. We clearly
    demonstrate that in our participation in missions in Afghanistan, Iraq,
    Kosovo, et cetera.
        We also talked about the stationing of the U.S. military facility in
    this country and in the neighboring country of Poland. And I think we've
    understood--we agree with President Bush on that. We regard it as
    important about President Bush has promised to make maximum efforts to
    explain these issues to Russia and President Putin. We have pointed it
    out to our guest that it is very important that we win maximum support
    for this project of the Czech public, who are very sensitive to those
    issues, and I suppose that this is what President Bush clearly realizes.

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        We've also exchanged views on the European integration process, and
    we've assured Mr. President that both myself and, too, the Government of
    the Czech Republic--the matter is that the U.S. must not be regarded as
    a competitor of Europe. We really are not involved in creating a united
    Europe as a certain counterbalance to the U.S. This is not our goal. We
    really care about a strong transatlantic relationship, relationship
    between the Czech Republic and the U.S.
        We are aware of the fact that our bilateral relationship is
    seamless. And we have emphasized to the President that the solution of
    the visa waiver issue would certainly help that to be regarded that way
    throughout our country.
        May I thank again President Bush for his short, but very busy visit
    to the Czech Republic and for his very open and friendly dialog we've
    engaged in. Thank you, Mr. President.
        President Bush. Laura and I are really
    pleased to be back in this magnificent city. As the President noted, I
    had the honor of being here once before during my Presidency. We had a
    great stay then, and I'm really looking forward to my time here.
        It's beginning an important trip to Europe. Obviously, I'm off to
    the G-8 later on this evening. I think it's important for the people of
    the Czech Republic to know, however, that my first stop is here. And the
    reason why is because the people of the United States marvel at the
    great strength of character that the people of the Czech Republic have
    shown, your great desire for freedom. People in this country took risk
    necessary so that the people could actually live in a free society.
        And, Mr. President, we're honored to call you friend. We appreciate
    very much our relationship--our bilateral relationship and our
    relationship in the transatlantic community. I thank you very much for
    being strong allies, Mr. Prime Minister and Mr. President, against
    extremists and radicals who would deny others the chance to live in a
    free society.
        We live in a world in which there are ideologically driven people
    who murder the innocent in order to achieve their strategic objectives.
    And I thank the Czech Government, as well as the people of this
    important country, for their steadfast refusal to allow the extremists
    to intimidate, allow the extremists to undermine young democracies.
        I appreciate so very much the fact that you have put troops in
    harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan. I expressed my deepest sympathies to
    the families who have lost a loved one. I would hope that those families
    understand, the cause is noble and just and necessary for peace for the
    long term.
        I appreciate very much the fact that the Czech Republic supported
    our Fund for Democracy. One of the first countries to step up was the
    Czech Republic, under the leadership of the President. When given a
    chance to help others realize the blessings of a free society, this
    important country stood up and said: ``We want to work together with
    others to bring the blessings of liberty to those who have not had it.''
        I want to thank very much the Government for stepping up and
    supporting those who have--don't have an opportunity to speak for
    themselves, whether they be the dissidents in Belarus or in Cuba. I find
    it inspiring to be in a country where the leadership and the people are
    willing to say: ``We listen carefully for the voices of those who have
    been imprisoned. We care deeply about human rights and human dignity not
    only in our own country but worldwide.'' I am in such a country. And so,
    Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister, I'm proud to stand with you here.
        We talked a lot about our mutual concerns. There's no greater issue
    for the people of the Czech Republic than visa waiver. I understand the
    issue well. I understand why people of this country would say: Here we
    are, sacrificing along with the United

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    States in Afghanistan and Iraq, yet our people don't have the same visa
    rights as other countries that might not be so supportive in the effort
    against the extremists. I see that contradiction, and, therefore, I'm a
    strong supporter in changing our visa waiver policy. I will work with
    Congress to come up with a policy that, of course, meets our needs,
    security needs, for example, but also treats the people of the Czech
    Republic with respect and who listens to those cries.
        I know this is a frustrating issue for your leadership. People in
    the Czech Republic say: ``Get it done now. We're tired of waiting.'' I
    know that, Mr. President. I just want to assure you I'll work as hard as
    I possibly can. We're involved in a very important immigration debate
    here--in the United States now--and the visa waiver is a part of this
    important dialog. And the only thing I can do is to assure the people
    I'll work with Congress to get something done in a constructive fashion.
        And then, of course, we discussed the missile defense issue. Let me
    first talk about a general principle when it comes to relations with
    Russia. The cold war is over; it ended. The people of the Czech Republic
    don't have to choose between being a friend to the United States or a
    friend with Russia; you can be both. We don't believe in a zero-sum
    world. We don't believe that one should force a country to choose. We
    believe, as a matter of fact, when we work together, we can achieve
    important objectives.
        One objective is to safeguard free nations from the possibility of a
    missile attack launched from a rogue regime. See, that's a true threat
    to peace. As I've told President Putin:
    ``Russia is not our enemy.'' The enemy of a free society such as ours
    would be a radical or extremists or a rogue regime trying to blackmail
    the free world in order to promote its ideological objectives. And so my
    attitude on missile defense is, is that this is a purely--it's not my
    attitude, it's the truth--it's a purely defensive measure, aimed not at
    Russia but at true threats.
        And therefore, as the President mentioned, I look forward to having
    conversations with President Putin, not only
    at the G-8 but up in the United States when he comes over. And my
    message will be: Vladimir--I call him Vladimir--that you shouldn't fear
    a missile defense system. As a matter of fact, why don't you cooperate
    with us on a missile defense system? Why don't you participate with the
    United States? Please send your generals over to see how such a system
    would work. Send your scientists. Let us have the ability to discuss
    this issue in an open forum where we'll be completely transparent. And
    I'll remind him that we're having these discussions not only bilaterally
    with the Czech Republic and Poland but also through the context of NATO,
    that the missile defense system will be coordinated with NATO.
        And so I just want the people of this important country to
    understand that our intention is--and the reality is, is that we'll
    protect ourselves from the true threat. It seems like to me, it's in
    this country's interest to work cooperatively with the latest
    technologies to provide protection not only for themselves but for
    others. It's a noble gesture and an important gesture. And I'll tell
    Russia that they need not fear such a system, that Russia is--with whom
    we'd like to have positive relations. That's a complex relationship, no
    doubt. But there's a lot of areas where we can work together to deal
    with common threats. And that will be my message, Mr. President, to
    President Putin, not only in Germany but when
    he comes to visit me in the United States.
        We had a really important and interesting discussion. We discussed a
    lot of important issues. That's what you should expect friends to do.
    I'm convinced that this relationship is really good for the United
    States of America, and I will continue to work to foster good relations.
        Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your
    hospitality. I thank you

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    for your important discussions, and thanks for giving me a chance to
    discuss these issues with the media.
        Prime Minister Topolanek. Mr. Honored President, I'm very happy that
    this meeting has taken place. And I will repeat what Mr. President Klaus
    said: I'm very happy that this meeting took place in this format. It
    appears that after a long time, the foreign policy of the Czech Republic
    goes in the same direction; it is coordinated; we are pulling in one
    direction. That's good news not only for the U.S., that's good news
    primarily for the people in this country.
        This visit has confirmed that there are no major problems--no
    problems, I should say--between our two countries. On the contrary, the
    U.S. and the Czech Republic share the same values. Although each of
    those countries has a different size and, as a result, carries a
    different portion of responsibility, we need to say that is the same
    kind of responsibility. That's why we coparticipate in peace missions;
    we are involved in combating terrorism; we want to be involved in
    collective defense by building the missile defense system in the Czech
    Republic and in Poland.
        I would like to emphasize that the cooperation with the U.S. does
    not concern only security issues, human rights issues, et cetera, and
    peacekeeping missions, et cetera. This is what the media has been paying
    most attention to. The U.S. is our--not only our major ally, but it is
    one of the major investors in the Czech Republic. Apart from that, we
    are after business cooperation, technology cooperation. The U.S. is
    world's innovation leader. It is dominant in science. And maybe this is
    our condition--and I may be putting this in a light at all--this may be
    our condition for the installation of the radar facility in the Czech
    Republic. We want cooperation in science technology and innovation. This
    is what we regard as very important, not only for the missile defense
    itself but for the Czech Republic and the U.S., as such.
        I want to say that the point is not only to site the facility in the
    Czech Republic, but this is about the joint will for defense of freedom.
    And I think the Czechs are much more sensitive to that than any other--
    many other European nations. That's why we want to be involved. And we
    want to shift the collective defense not only to the Czech Republic but
    also to make sure it stretches over other friends in Europe.
        In response to media speculation, I would like to say that neither
    me nor the American President link the siting of the radar facility to
    the visa waiver issue. Visa is unjust; it must be done away with. We've
    started discussing this much earlier than we started the radar facility
    talks. I trust President Bush and his clear promise that he will
    advocate the waiver of the visa, and talking about a bargain is, I
    think, rather undignified in this regard. We would be involved in visa
    talks even without the radar. And on the contrary, we would want to help
    our allies, protect our allies against a rogue state's rockets, even if
    there was no visa problem. These topics are interrelated only because we
    are the Czech Republic and they are the U.S.; otherwise, not.
        We didn't discuss these issues only; we talked about human rights in
    Cuba, in Belarus, and our support of the opposition there. We talked
    about Southern Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Transdnestria's conflicts. We
    talked about Kosovo, about our missions to Afghanistan. We talked about
    energy security. All those are interrelated issues. We talked also about
    a number of other issues. You need to talk about such issues, and I'm
    happy that in a crushing majority of issues, rather in all issues, we
    could find agreement with the American President.
        There are a lot of things that we could not discuss, and I hope we
    will be able to discuss them during my visit to the U.S. that is now
    being prepared.
        If I were to pick two words from George Walker Bush today that
    characterize our

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    cooperation and friendship, I would call it active partnership. Thank
    you.
        President Klaus. Thank you, honored President. Thank you, Prime
    Minister. And let me bring this conference to a close. Thank you, and
    have a good day.

    Note: The President spoke at approximately 11:50 a.m. in Rothmayer Hall
    at Prague Castle. In his remarks, he referred to President Vladimir V.
    Putin of Russia. President Klaus and Prime Minister Topolanek spoke in
    Czech, and their remarks were translated by an interpreter. A portion of
    these remarks could not be verified because the tape was incomplete.