[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
[September 7, 2007]
[Pages 1185-1186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Meeting With President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Sydney
September 7, 2007

    President Putin. First of all, I would like to say that I am very 
glad to have this opportunity to meet with the U.S. President within the 
framework of the APEC summit.
    In the meeting we had today, I started with the words of gratitude 
for this fantastic and warm welcome which we enjoyed during our visit to 
Kennebunkport recently.
    We have managed to cover all the matters on our bilateral agenda and 
the key international aspects too. First of all, about the missile 
defense, we have once again said that it is necessary that our experts 
meet again very soon and make another trip to Azerbaijan to the Gabala 
radio location station. By saying this, we confirm that the process of 
our joint work on this--in this direction is underway.
    We also discussed the--Russia's WTO accession plans. We hope that 
this work will end up with positive results and these endeavors will be 
continued on the expert level too.
    We also discussed the Iranian nuclear issue. And I would like to say 
that Russia intends and is prepared to continue this work with our 
partners and colleagues within the framework of the IAEA and the United 
Nations. And I hope that a solution will be found for the benefits of 
the international community in general and the benefits of Iranian 
people in particular.
    We also covered our economic relations. We discussed some particular 
large-scale economic projects, the implementation of which is to the 
interests of the business communities on both sides, in the U.S. and in 
Russia.
    And we also discussed the environmental issues of--in particular in 
connection with the forthcoming APEC summit. I should tell you that we 
have very close positions on these matters.
    I would like to thank my colleague, the President of the United 
States, for a very constructive and open dialog, which we enjoyed today.
    This gives me every hope to believe that further on the relations 
between the countries will continue to develop in the same positive 
mood.
    Thank you.
    President Bush. Vladimir, thanks. For a minute, I thought he brought 
up the Kennebunkport visit to remind me that he was the only one who 
caught the fish. But in fact, it was our--my family's great pleasure to 
welcome my friend the President of Russia to mother and dad's home.
    I have nothing much more to add than what Vladimir said. We did 
discuss a variety of issues that are of importance to our respective 
countries, and I found the conversation to be cordial and constructive. 
We are results-oriented people. We want to help solve problems. And we 
recognize that we can do better solving problems when we work together.
    So I appreciate your time, appreciate your friendship, and 
appreciate the chance to dialog on important matters.
    President Putin. And we also agreed that we will enjoy fishing not 
only in the United States but somewhere in Siberia very soon.
    President Bush. Yes, sir. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 4:51 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel at Circular 
Quay. President Putin spoke in Russian, and his remarks were translated 
by an interpreter.

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