[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
[June 10, 2007]
[Pages 720-726]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Sali
Berisha of Albania in Tirana, Albania
June 10, 2007
Prime Minister Berisha. Honorable Mr. President Bush, honorable
close collaborators of Mr. President Bush, ladies and gentlemen: Today
is a beautiful day. Today is a great day, historic for all Albanians.
Among us is the greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had
in all times: the President of the United States--[inaudible]--George W.
Bush; his lady, Mrs. Laura Bush; and their close
aides. For me, it's a great honor and a special pleasure to thank them
with gratitude and extend the most heartfelt welcome in this historic
visit, the first visit ever of a United States President in Albania.
Thank you heartily, Mr. President, from the bottom of our hearts,
fulfilling ardent and long-awaited wish of all Albanians to have a
special guest in their home. Tungjatjeta, an Albanian word, means ``May
you have a long life.'' This is a most traditional greeting of Albanians
that I chose to greet you on their behalf, on behalf of Albanians.
Welcome to Albania, President Bush.
Mr. President, you are today an honorable guest and friend of a
nation whose gratefulness and friendship towards your great Nation and
your country have been deeply embodied in the historic memory and in the
conscience of its citizens. No other nation in the region or in Europe
has ever gone through so much suffering, ethnic cleansing, racism,
partitions, occupations, and severe dictatorships as we Albanians have.
History was unjust and very severe to us.
We have been blessed, however. We have won in all our efforts to
defend our identity in Western-oriented national vocation to emerge from
the age of oppression to the age of dignity, from the age of darkness to
the age of freedom. We have won because our just cause has always had
the powerful support of the U.S.A., the greatest and the most precious
friend of Albanian nation. God bless your great Nation.
At the beginning of last century, President Wilson did not allow the
partition of the newly proclaimed Albanian independent state. The U.S.A.
recognized Albania 85 years ago. Your visit on this anniversary is its
most beautiful crown, is the climax of excellent, friendly relations
between our two countries.
Afterwards, President Truman made big efforts to free Albanians from
their Orwellian dictatorship. At the outset of the nineties, President
George Herbert Bush and his administration provided an exceptional
contribution to the fall of Berlin Wall, but the fall of this wall in
Tirana as well, opening the doors of freedom for Albanians.
President Bill Clinton led the North Atlantic Alliance in the fight
for Kosovo liberation from the barbarian occupation. And today, Kosovo
citizens find in you and your administration, Mr. President, the
greatest hope and support for their project of a free, independent, and
integrated state in Europe.
Centuries ago, until our present days, hundreds and thousands of
Albanians migrated to your great country. They are loyal and honorable
citizens of the United States who have always loved and still love the
nation and the country of origin. They have--[inaudible]--a lot; they
have kept a life of hope and freedom for Albanians always on.
In your presence, I'd like today to extend the most cordial
greetings and my deepest gratitude. The friendly feelings towards the--
your Nation and your great country, the proud Americanism of Albanians
are indeed a matter of their national pride. Albanians are very proud
about the friendship with the U.S.A. and the cooperation they
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have with your nation in the war against international terrorism, of
their presence on your side in Iraq, Afghanistan. I assure you that they
will be on your side wherever their modest, but resolute contribution is
needed against international terrorism, this most dangerous enemy of
free people.
Above all, Albanians feel proud of their friendship with your nation
because we share the values and the principles of freedom and market-
oriented democracy. In this road, they have received an exceptional
overall political, economic, financial, and technical assistance
provided--military--provided by the U.S. and the EU countries and other
friendly countries, for which we remain truly, always grateful.
Sixteen years ago, Secretary James Baker brought to Albanians the
message from the country of freedom, ``Freedom works.'' Today, after 16
years, I can say that despite the hardships of our country, experienced
by our country, freedom for Albanians has worked more than any other
nation. Albania, a country of denied freedoms and human rights, banned
the Constitution, a country of hypercollectivization and true human
slavery and the most extreme isolation, today is the country of
political, economic, consolidated pluralism, of excellent religious
tolerance, of functioning, working democracy. It is the country with a
fast economic growth, with the private sector accounting for 80 percent
of GDP. And the income per capita have increased 20 times more.
Albania is the country that signed and is implementing successfully
their stabilization association agreement with the EU and received the
message from Riga summit on the possibility of receiving an invitation
for NATO membership. It is a country that welcomes today the President
of the United States of America, George W. Bush. God bless Albanians.
Ladies and gentlemen, in our talks with President Bush, we have
discussed our excellent, friendly bilateral relations and their further
development. I informed him of other reforms launched by my Government
and their results in strengthening the rule of law, the zero-tolerance
fight against organized crime, the valuable assistance that law
enforcement agencies from the United States and other friendly countries
are providing to this end. We talked about the fight against corruption
and the much-expected assistance that a series of projects funded by the
Millennium Challenge Account related to e-taxes, e-procurement, and one-
stop shop offer in this regard and other reforms in the judicial system,
police, education, et cetera.
I briefed President Bush on the significant reforms that we are
undertaking in the view of turning Albania into a very attractive
country for U.S.A. and the foreign investors--other foreign investors.
We hope that this visit will encourage others.
A special place was the question of Albania's membership into NATO
as the main priority of Albania. In this regard, we have decided to
increase our defense budget to 2 percent of GDP, to triple our presence
in Afghanistan, and implement with seriousness the requirements of the
ninth MAP cycle. In addition, let me mention that 90 percent of
Albanians support Albania's membership to NATO. The support of President
Bush and his administration is of a vital importance to Albania for
membership into NATO as the most secure future.
We discussed about the situation in the region. After this press
conference, we'll continue the discussion in the framework of Adriatic
Charter, A-3, with the very good friends of Albania, the Prime Minister
of Croatia, Ivo Sanader, and Prime Minister of Macedonia, Nikola
Gruevski.
Special attention in our discussion was given to solution of the
final status of Kosovo in compliance with the proposal of President
Ahtisaari for its independence as a--
gradual independence as a precondition for stability and peace in the
region.
Ladies and gentlemen, in December 1990, students and citizens in
Tirana took
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to the streets and the squares with--shouting: ``U.S.A., long live
President Bush.'' We want Albania like the rest of Europe. President
Bush visit Albania in 1994--2004 and 2006, and Mr. Jimmy Carter before.
And after this visit, Mr. President, our country will be visited by
other Presidents of the United States. But in their memory of Albanian
citizens, the great honor that you made to them with your first visit of
a United States President in office in Albania.
Thank you very much, Mr. President Bush, great friend of Albanian
nation, of my nation.
President Bush. Miredita. [Laughter] Thank you for having me. Prime
Minister, thank you for your hospitality. I thank the President for his
hospitality as well.
I am proud to be the first American sitting President to visit
Albania. It's a great honor to represent my country here. I've really
been looking forward to this trip, and so has my wife Laura. The reason
being is that I love to come to countries that are working hard to
establish the institutions necessary for a democracy to survive. I'm
particularly pleased to be here in Albania, in a country that has casted
off the shackles of a very repressive society and is now showing the
world what's possible. And I congratulate the people of Albania, and I
thank you for the warm welcome we received on your streets.
We had a very good discussion. I learned a lot about your country. I
learned the fact that this is a country that embraces the markets, is
willing to do necessary reforms to make sure that the small-business
person survives, that the entrepreneur is strong, that the tax code is
fair. I'm impressed with the desire of the government to fight
corruption, to make it clear that the government is of the people, that
the government can be trusted by the people, by routing out those who
would use their exalted positions to steal from the taxpayers. I
appreciate that kind of commitment, Mr. Prime Minister.
I appreciate the fact that Albania is a model of religious
tolerance. And I appreciate the fact that Albania is a trusted friend
and a strong ally. And this visit today, hopefully, will send the signal
to the people of Albania: You can count on America, just like America
can count on you, to do hard work necessary to spread freedom and,
therefore, peace.
We discussed a lot of issues. We discussed Iraq and Afghanistan. I
thank the Prime Minister and his Government for putting troops in harm's
way. Albanians know the horror of tyranny, and so they're working to
bring the hope of freedom to people who haven't known it. And that's a
noble effort and a sacrifice, and I appreciate your sacrifice.
Albania now has 120 of its elite commandos stationed in Iraq. I had
the privilege of meeting some of the Albanian soldiers. Here's what I
told them, I said: ``First of all, you are respected by our military.''
Your soldiers are good at what they do. They're well trained; they're
disciplined; they're courageous. I told them that the United States
appreciates their contribution; so do the Iraqi citizens. And also told
them, when they went home, to make sure that they told their wives and
their children, ``thanks,'' on behalf of the United States of America as
well. The families are just as much a part of a soldier's life as the
soldier himself.
And so, Mr. Prime Minister, we thank you very much for your
commitment to freedom in Iraq as well as Afghanistan. The Prime Minister
has announced that Albania will deploy 120 additional troops to
Afghanistan this summer. These are two vital fronts on the war on
terror, and the United States has a strong friend in Albania in this
war. And I thank you.
We also talked about NATO and Albania's aspirations to join the NATO
alliance. I commended the Prime Minister for the progress that Albania
has made in defense reform. In other words, part of becoming a member of
NATO requires a reformation
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of the defense forces. And Albania is working hard to do that, as well
as to meet performance-based standards for membership. In other words,
you're just not accepted into membership; you just can't say, I want to
join. There are certain standards that are expected to be met.
And so I talked to the Prime Minister, first of all, about my deep
desire for Albania to join NATO. I support it. I also told him that
there needs to be additional political and military reforms, progress
against organized crime and corruption. And he understands that. He
said, ``We're committed.'' That's what the Prime Minister said--Albania
is committed to meeting those standards. And I said: ``We're committed
to help you.''
And it's very important for the political figures here in this
country to understand what's at stake. The politicians have got to work
together now to meet the standards. They've got to set aside political
differences and focus on what's right for Albania. If the Albanian
people want to join NATO, then the politicians have got to work to meet
the standards.
And so I call upon all in the Government and the opposition to do
what is necessary to join NATO, and we'll support you and help you. I
think it's best that Albania be a NATO ally. I look forward to welcoming
you someday into NATO.
We also talked about Kosovo. I'm a strong supporter of the Ahtisaari
plan. I said yesterday in Rome, the time is now. A fellow asked me a
question: ``Well, when does this end? When does the process end?'' I
said, ``The time is now.'' In other words, I put a sense of--I made it
clear that--two things: One, that we need to get moving; and two, that
the end result is independence. And we spent a lot of time talking about
this issue here. The Prime Minister was anxious to hear my views. He
wanted to make sure that what I said was clear for everybody, and what I
said was, independence is the result, let's get the process moving.
Now, we want to make sure that Serbia hears that the United States
supports their aspirations for closer integration with the West. That
means working with the United States in a bilateral fashion. It also
means potential membership of NATO, for example. I urged the Prime
Minister to work with the leaders in Kosovo to maintain calm during
these final stages of Kosovo final status process. He assured me he
would. He's got good contacts there, and Kosovars look to the Prime
Minister of Albania and the President for Albania for leadership, and they're willing to provide it.
And so we discussed a lot of issues, and, I must say, I was very
impressed by the conversations; impressed with the vision; and want to
help. The United States wants to be a good ally and friend.
And again, I thank you all for the hospitality, and I know you're
proud of the historic progress that you have made. May God bless the
people of Albania and, of course, the people of the United States.
Thank you, sir.
Prime Minister Berisha. Thank you.
President Bush. A couple of questions here. He's calling on you.
International Support for Kosovo
Q. You guaranteed President Bush that you will talk with the Kosovo
leaders concerning the proposal of President Sarkozy that may lead to
the loss of patience of the Kosovars, that they may self-proclaim
independence. And what would the attitude of Albania be in this case?
And did you touch this factor, this opposition with President Bush?
Prime Minister Berisha. We discussed at large about Kosovo with
President Bush. What I may publicly transmit to the leadership and the
citizens of Kosovo is that their project has the full understanding,
good understanding and support, full support, of President Bush. And in
this context, as before--now, as well--I don't expect and I don't advise
any movement. On the contrary, I suggest persistence and calmness,
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coolbloodedness. This is in the heart of--Kosovo is in the heart of
President Bush.
President Bush. What's important is for the people of Kosovo to know
that the United States and Albania strongly supports independence, as
did most of the people in the G-8.
President Sarkozy's recommendation was
to try to provide some time for people to possibly work out differences.
However, what would be acceptable to the United States and, I think,
most people in the G-8 was that at the end of any process, there be
certain independence. That's what's important to know.
And that's--the issue is whether independence or not. We strongly
believe in independence. And then the question is, the diplomatic moves
necessary to achieve that. I happen to believe it's important to push
the process along. The time is now. And by that I meant that Secretary
Rice will be moving hard to see if we can't
reach an agreement. And if not, we're going to have to move because
independence is the goal, and that's what the people of Kosovo need to
know.
Thank you for your question.
Toby [Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters].
Kosovo/Missile Defense System
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Yesterday you called for a deadline for
U.N. action on Kosovo. When would you like that deadline set? And are
you at all concerned that taking that type of a stance is going to
further inflame U.S. relations with Russia?
And is there any chance that you're going to sign on to the Russian
missile defense proposal?
President Bush. No, thanks. A couple of points on that. First of
all, I don't think I called for a deadline. I thought I said, time; I
did? What exactly did I say? I said, ``deadline?'' Okay, yes, then I
meant what I said. [Laughter] The question is whether or not there is
going to be endless dialog on a subject that we have made up our mind
about. We believe Kosovo ought to be independent.
The G-8 discussions were all aimed at determining whether or not
there is a way to make this acceptable to Russia. The ideal would be for
Russia to say: ``Okay, we understand, and we accept this conclusion as
well.'' And obviously, they're not there yet. And therefore, the reason
why I said there needs to be movement is that there just cannot be
continued drift, because I'm worried about expectations not being met in
Kosovo. That's what I meant. And therefore, we'll push the process.
President Putin made an interesting
proposal on missile defense for Europe. I suggested--and I've made an
interesting proposal for missile defense in Europe, by the way, all
aimed at protecting Europe, not aimed at Russia. The reason I did is
because the true threats we'll be facing will be from rogue nations that
may end up with a deliverable weapon. So, I thought it was in the
interest of peace that we have the capacity to intercept such a missile,
and, therefore, need to proceed.
And President Putin said, ``Well, I
think I've got an idea that makes sense.'' And this is the joint use of
radar in Azerbaijan. I said, ``Well, why don't we look at it?'' But
during the discussions, it became apparent that he also had doubts about
the proposal I made, as to its effectiveness or necessity. And I said:
``Well, you put out an idea, and I put an idea. Why don't we both get a
group together to discuss our relative ideas in a transparent fashion;
so put--get people from your Foreign Ministry, and we'll get people from
the State Department and our respective defense departments and
militaries to sit at the table and to share different ideas, to share
ideas about technologies on how to intercept a missile and radar
positioning to make sure that there's effective coverage?''
I thought his statement was an
important statement to make. In other words, he recognized that there's
an opportunity to work together. That's what friends do, by the
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way. Russia is not our enemy. As I said repeatedly, the cold war is
over, and now we're dealing with threats in the 21st century. And I
appreciated his recognition that there could be an opportunity to work
together to deal with those threats. I viewed it as a very positive
gesture, and looking forward to continuing discussions on this very
subject in July when he comes to Maine.
Prime Minister Berisha. I would like to add for the citizens of
Kosovo and its leadership, in my discussions, I found out consciousness
and awareness of President Bush for the consequences of prolongation
on--unacceptable prolongation around justifiable--prolongation of the
process. And in this context, they should be clear that the President is
aware of these consequences and is not willing them to be.
Albania's NATO Membership Bid
Q. In your meeting with President Bush, what important place was
occupied by NATO membership--Albania being made a member of NATO? Do you
assure us that you have won the support of President Bush for quick
integration of membership into NATO? And further, do you observe
differences in speed of Adriatic 3 countries, A-3 countries?
Prime Minister Berisha. I can assure you totally that President Bush
and his administration support powerfully Albania's project for full
membership into NATO. In this framework, I would say that this help and
support has been of extraordinary importance in all reforms of
democratic institutions, of the armed forces, and in cooperation in the
framework of NATO during these years.
Of course, the invitation is defined to be given on the basis of
performance. We are determined to take any decision, adopt any law,
undertake any reform that would make Albania suitable to receive the
invitation.
I think that the cooperation with Adriatic Charter, A-3, was
fruitful--and very fruitful and very successful. Our three countries
have common things in specifics. If we take the level where--from which
Albania started and it's progress, it is one of the most evaluated,
appreciated.
Second, Albania has a loyal cooperation with NATO for 15 years. I
have to stress, one moment, that in '99, when Milosevic cleansed 1
million Albanians from their homes, thousands of the area's homes, the
friendly countries built camps to receive the refugees. But about
500,000 Albanian families turned their houses into tents of welcome for
NATO. You may say, they did it for Albanians. Absolutely, yes. But no
one can prove that Albanians wouldn't do that for every citizen of
another ethnicity who would be in need, like the Kosovo people were at
that time. Ninety-three percent of Albanians support membership into
NATO. We have our own advantages.
International Support for Kosovo
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. You've said that it's time to move the
Kosovo--the Ahtisaari plan forward. What specifically are you going to
do to accomplish that? And at what point do you say, it's not working?
And then what?
President Bush. What you do is, you get your diplomats working with
Russian diplomats, as well as EU diplomats, to see if there is not
common ground. In other words, there has to be an effort to see if we
can't find a way for everybody to say, well, it's a good idea. And if
you end up being in a position where you don't, at some point in time,
sooner rather than later, you've got to say enough is enough; Kosovo is
independent, and that's the position we've taken.
The people of Kosovo need to know that it is a solid, firm position.
And even though there's diplomacy and talks, hopefully, trying to find a
way forward to accommodate Russia and Serbia and the EU--by the way,
most people in the EU are very much in favor. The EU position is for the
Ahtisaari plan. They just hope that there is some
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way that we can reach an accommodation with a variety of interests so
that the transition to independence will be as smooth and easy as
possible. But if that becomes--is apparent that that's not going to
happen in a relatively quick period of time, in my judgment, we need to
put forward the resolution. Hence, deadline.
Thank you all for your attention. Mr. Prime Minister, it was a great
press conference. Proud to be the first American sitting President to
actually hold a press conference on Albanian soil as well. Thank you
very much.
Prime Minister Berisha. Thank you, President.
President Bush. Thank you all.
Prime Minister Berisha. Thank you.
President Bush. Good job. Thank you.
Prime Minister Berisha. Thank you.
Note: The President's news conference began at 12:40 p.m. in the
Courtyard at the Council of Ministers. In his remarks, he referred to
President Alfred Moisiu of Albania; President Nicolas Sarkozy of France;
and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Prime Minister Berisha
referred to former President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, United Nations
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Future Status Process of
Kosovo. Prime Minister Berisha and some reporters spoke in Albanian, and
their remarks were translated by an interpreter.