    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [April 6, 2008]
    [Pages 472-479]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Sochi
    April 6, 2008

        President Putin. Good afternoon, dear ladies and gentlemen. First
    and foremost, I would like to thank the President of the United States,
    Mr. Bush, for accepting the invitation to meet here in Sochi in order
    to, sort of, draw the bottom line of the 8 years of our parallel terms
    in office. And he will probably agree with me, the result has been
    positive on the whole.
        Since our first meeting in Ljubljana back in 2001, we have had an
    open and sincere relationship, and this has allowed us, without any
    circumventions or conventions, to start discussing the most pressing
    issues on the international and bilateral agenda. This dialogue is not
    always easy between our two countries. There have been and there remain
    certain disagreements on a number of issues, but the search of common
    denominators is going on.
        George and I, I have already mentioned, have been able to build our
    agenda in a way that would prevent our disagreements on one set of
    issues from negatively influencing the state of play in other areas
    where we do have progress and where we are converging our positions.
    This has strengthened the entire architecture of the U.S.-Russian
    relationship.
        In preparing for this meeting and in the course of this meeting, we
    have taken stock of major issues on the U.S.-Russian agenda, and here in
    Sochi, we have adopted a declaration on strategic framework. Of course,
    it does not provide any breakthrough solutions on a number of issues,
    but we did not really expect this. It is important that the document
    sums up the positive achievements of the past few years, these in such
    areas as security, nonproliferation, including the initiatives that
    President Bush and I put forward, be it in counterterrorism and building
    business partnerships.
        The declaration also reflects our continuing disagreements,
    primarily in the political-military field, but we reaffirm our
    willingness to work towards overcoming those differences. The most
    important thing is that we are talking about a strategic choice of our
    nations in favor of developing a constructive relationship that goes
    beyond the previous model of mutual containment. This declaration is a
    forward-looking one, and it provides a much more accurate assessment of
    the level of our partnership than what is normally believed based on
    stereotypes.
        Certainly we have taken advantage of this meeting in order to
    sincerely, without protocol, discuss the most pressing issues of today,
    primarily those that influence strategic stability and international
    security for the long term, which is also very important.
        I will not conceal that on a number of the most--one of the most
    difficult issues was and remains the issue of missile defense in Europe.
    This is not about language; this is not about diplomatic phrasing

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    or wording; this is about the substance of the issue. I would like to be
    very clear on this: Our fundamental attitude to the American plans have
    not changed; however, certain progress is obvious. Our concerns have
    been heard by the United States. In March at the 2-plus-2 meeting, and
    earlier today in my conversation with President Bush, we have been
    offered a set of confidence-building and transparency measures in the
    field of missile defense, and we can feel that the President of the
    United States takes a very serious approach here and is sincerely
    willing to resolve this problem.
        We do support this approach, and certainly, in principle, adequate
    measures of confidence building and transparency can be found. They can
    be important and useful in addressing this kind of issues. Thus, we now
    have room for cooperation; we are ready for such interaction. As far as
    the concrete substance of the U.S. proposals, it is too early to speak
    about it at this point. It is up to the experts to discuss the technical
    details of these proposals, and it is up to them to make any final
    conclusions. And the alternative that we offered last year is still
    relevant. We hope that it will be an issue for discussion in the future.
        As far as strategic offensive weapons are concerned, we do have
    certain differences, still, in our basic approaches. And of course, both
    Russia and the United States are in favor of the continuation of a
    process of nuclear disarmament, and we have found some common ground
    here.
        Last year in Kennebunkport, Mr. Bush and I agreed to start work on a
    new agreement that would replace the START Treaty, which will expire in
    2009. We agreed that it would be necessary to maintain all the useful
    and necessary parts of the START Treaty. We're going to continue working
    on this. Our concerns are clear to both sides, in such fields as the
    development of state-of-the-art technology. And I hope that experts will
    be able to find some agreement here as well.
        We also discussed the CFE Treaty. We discussed the enlargement
    policy of NATO. We spoke very frankly, in a very substantive fashion.
    And overall, I am satisfied that our partners are listening to us quite
    attentively, and I hope that here, as well, we are going to reach some
    true understanding. Of course, the Sochi declaration had to reflect our
    cooperation.
        In business, we reaffirmed our mutual willingness to ensure Russia's
    early accession to the WTO on commercially viable terms and commercially
    justified terms that would not undermine Russia's economic interests. We
    hope that the United States this year will make Russia exempt from the
    Jackson-Vanik amendment, and we hope that the United States will
    establish permanent normal trade relations with Russia. We have also
    reaffirmed our willingness to continue our business-to-business
    cooperation. Another relevant issue is the work on a new incremental
    agreement on the encouragement and mutual protection of investment.
        Another important area of our cooperation is energy. Here we do have
    certain good progress. We hope that our energy dialogue will carry on,
    and we hope that it will involve major projects that would be in line
    with the interests of both countries.
        This is my last meeting with President Bush in my current capacity,
    and I would like to mention here that I have always found it rewarding
    and interesting to deal with the U.S. President. I have always
    appreciated his honesty and his openness, his willingness to listen to
    his counterpart. And this is precious. We have been motivated by our
    sincere willingness to strengthen our partnership and to strengthen
    mutual understanding between our two nations. We have sought to find new
    horizons for our cooperation. And I'm grateful to George for the
    achievement that we can register, and this achievement is very much due
    to him and his support.

    [[Page 474]]

        President Bush. [Inaudible]--Vladimir, thanks for your gracious
    invitation. This is the very room where you served an unbelievably good
    dinner last night, with fabulous entertainments. Thank you for your
    hospitality. Laura and I are thrilled to be with
    you. And also, thank you for the briefing on the winter Olympics. I'm
    sure the people in this area are really excited about the fact that
    you've been awarded the winter Olympics. I congratulate you and wish you
    all the very best. And maybe you'll invite me to come as your guest, who
    knows.
        We spent a lot of time in our relationship trying to get rid of the
    cold war. It's over; it ended. And the fundamental question in this
    relationship is, could we work together to put the cold war in the past?
    And I fully recognize there are people in America and Russia that think
    the cold war still exists. And sometimes that makes relations difficult.
    But it's very important for leaders to think strategically and not get
    stuck in the past and be willing to advance agendas.
        And so we've worked very hard over the past years to find areas
    where we can work together and find ways to be agreeable when we
    disagree. And I think we've done a pretty good job of it. And I want to
    thank you for your openness as well. It's been a remarkable
    relationship.
        Today the signing of this strategic framework declaration really
    does show the breadth and the depth of our cooperation. It shows where
    we differ, as Vladimir mentioned, but it shows that when you work hard,
    you can find areas where you can figure out how to cooperate. The
    document speaks of the respect of rule of law, international law, human
    rights, tolerance of diversity, political freedom, and a free market
    approach to economic policy and practices.
        One of the areas where we've agreed to work together is in missile
    defense. And obviously, as Vladimir mentioned, this an area where we've
    got more work to do to convince the Russian side that the system is not
    aimed at Russia. As the agreement mentioned, we agree today that the
    United States and Russia want to create a system for responding to
    potential missile threats, in which Russia and the United States and
    Europe will participate as equal partners.
        This is a powerful and important strategic vision. It's the vision
    that Vladimir Putin first articulated in Kennebunkport, Maine. For those
    of you there, you might remember the moment. And this is what we're
    building on. We're taking the vision that we discussed in Kennebunkport,
    and now we're putting it in a document form to help not only this
    administration but future American administrations work with future
    Russian administrations on this very important issue.
        To help counter those threats, the United States is working with the
    Czech Republic and Poland. And as the President has done consistently,
    he expressed his concerns about those relationships. There's no doubt
    where he stands. That's why I like him. You don't have to guess. And he
    is concerned about it. Yet Russia appreciates the confidence building
    and transparency measures that we have proposed and declared that if
    agreed and implemented, such measures will be important and useful in
    ensuring [assuaging] * Russia concerns.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        * White House correction.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        He's got doubts about whether or not these systems are aimed at him.
    My view is, is that the more open we are, the more transparent we are,
    the more we share technological information, the more likely it will be
    that people throughout the system understand that this is an opportunity
    to deal with the threats of the 21st century, such as a launch from the
    Middle East or elsewhere. And the document shows areas where we agree
    and where we disagree, but where we can work together in the future. And
    I appreciate that very much.
        We're talk--we're working together to stop the spread of dangerous
    weapons, and

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    I appreciate the fact that we're implementing the Bratislava Nuclear
    Security Initiative, which is an important initiative. We continue to
    work together to meet the threat of nuclear terrorism, including through
    the Global Initiative To Combat Nuclear Terrorism. It's an important
    initiative in which the Russians and the United States have worked
    cooperatively and have taken the lead.
        We talked about Iran. As I told Vladimir, that in the States, when
    asked about this at the press conferences, I've always told people how
    much I appreciate his leadership on the Iranian issue. After all, Russia
    went to the Iranians and said, ``You should have civilian nuclear
    power.'' I agree. He then went on to say, ``And we'll provide the fuel
    for you; therefore, there's no need for you to enrich.'' And it's your
    leadership on this issue, Mr. President, that's very important in making
    sure that the regime honors the international commitments that we expect
    it to.
        We briefly touched about the six-party talks with North Korea, the
    need for us to work together to help that nation move forward.
        We talked about fighting terror. The United States has suffered
    terrorist attacks on its soil, as have Russia. And I will tell you,
    there's been no firmer person in the world who understands the threat of
    radicalism and the capacity of these radicals and extremists to murder
    the innocent people. I remember full well when that happened on your
    soil. I remember our discussions right thereafter.
        And I want to thank you for working hard to deal with terrorists and
    terrorist finance and to share intelligence to protect our people.
    That's our most important job, and we've improved our relations along
    these fronts.
        We did talk about--Vladimir did talk about economic cooperation. I
    support Russia's efforts to join the WTO. I support Russia's efforts to
    join the OECD. I think we ought to get rid of Jackson-Vanik. I think
    it's time to move this relationship in a new light. And I look forward
    to reminding Congress that it's in our interest to do such.
        And so we had a--this is a good agreement and a good understanding.
    And, Mr. President, this is our last meeting as Presidents and--it won't
    be our last meeting as people, but it will be our last meeting as
    Presidents of our country. And it's a little bit nostalgic. It's a
    moment where it just proves life moves on. And I want to thank you for
    introducing me to the new President. We
    had a good meeting, and I appreciate you providing the opportunity for
    us to meet. And I look forward to working with him throughout the rest
    of my term.
        In the meantime, thanks very much for your hospitality and your
    friendship and for giving me a chance to have yet another press
    conference with you. [Laughter]
        Moderator. Dear colleagues, two questions from each side. The first
    question will be asked by our guests, the United States.

    Russian Foreign Policy/President-elect Dmitry A. Medvedev of Russia

        Q. President Putin, President Bush has expressed some confusion
    about who's going to run Russia's foreign policy when you step down and
    become Prime Minister. And he wondered who was going to represent Russia
    at the G-8. Who is in charge? And will you represent Russia at the G-8?
        And, Mr. President, 7 years ago, you said that you looked into Mr.
    Putin's soul and that you found him to be trustworthy.
        President Bush. Yes.
        Q. You met today with his successor. Did you have a similar
    experience, and what was your take?
        President Bush. I did find him to be trustworthy, and he was
    trustworthy.
        Q. No, I mean his successor.
        President Bush. No, I know. I'm just setting it up. [Laughter] He's
    going to go first, though.

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        President Putin. Regarding foreign policy of the Russian Federation,
    in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, foreign
    policy is determined by the President. And the newly elected President
    of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, will represent
    Russia at the most important international fora, including the G-8
    summit.
        Once again, I would like to emphasize that over the past years, as
    head of the administration, the President of Russian Federation, first
    Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and member of the
    Security Council of the Russian Federation, Mr. Medvedev has been one of
    the coauthors of the Russian foreign policy. He is in the course of--
    he's quite knowledgeable about all the current affairs and our strategic
    plans. Therefore, this will be a reliable partner, a professional
    partner, who will be ready for constructive dialogue, with priority
    given to Russia's national interest, of course.
        I don't know if there's anything I can add to what I've just said.
    Now, as far as your humble servant, myself, if I become Prime Minister,
    the Prime Minister will have many other issues and problems on his
    agenda. Those relate mostly to the state of the economy and various
    social policy issues. And those are issues that the rank and file
    citizen in any country is concerned with, including in the Russian
    Federation. And I intend to focus my intention--my attention and my
    efforts at addressing precisely these tasks.
        President Bush. My comments about Vladimir Putin were aimed to say
    that I found him to be the kind of person--I thought he'd be the kind of
    person who would tell me what's on his mind. A lot of times in politics
    you have people look you in the eye and tell you what's not on their
    mind. He looks you in the eye and tells you what's on his mind. He's
    been very truthful. And that's--to me, that's the only way you can find
    common ground and to be able to deal in a way that you don't let your
    disputes interrupt your relationships.
        And you know, I just met the man for about 20 minutes, the
    President-elect, and it seemed--he seemed like a straightforward fellow,
    somebody who would tell you what's on his mind. But he is not the
    President. This man is the President. And so our conversation was--he
    was very respectful of the fact that he is waiting his time until he
    gets duly sworn in as President of the Russian Federation, and then
    he'll act as the President.
        And so my first impressions are very positive, a smart fellow. You
    know, I got to see him at Crawford once before, and then he came to the
    White House, I think, with Vladimir, and then came on his own one time.
    But we never really had a full discussion. And I just repeat to you:
    From my observation, he understands there's a certain protocol, and that
    he is taking his time; he's studying; he's preparing to assume office.
    But he is not going to act like a President nor assume Presidential
    duties until he gets to be the President.
        And so you can write down, I was impressed and looking forward to
    working with him.

    Missile Defense System

        Q. My first question is to Mr. Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich. We can
    see from the declaration what you say about missile defense; the
    concerns are still there. Issues relating to the third site in Russia
    are still on the agenda.
        And my question to Mr. Bush: You talk about transparency. Will you
    be able to convince your colleagues in Poland and the Czech Republic to
    be as transparent as you are going to be in missile defense issues?
        President Putin. True, we have not resolved all the problems
    relating to missile defense and the third site in Europe. However, I
    have already mentioned, before and today, we have seen once again that
    our U.S. partners not only understand our concerns but are sincerely
    trying to overcome

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    our concerns. And another important observation is that I do have
    certain cautious optimism with regard to mutual agreements. I believe
    that this is possible. But the devil is in the details, and it is
    important here that our experts could work at the expert level. It is
    important for them to agree on the concrete confidence-building
    measures, and they should see how those measures will be implemented in
    practical terms.
        And the third issue mentioned by President Bush--he said that we
    should work together on these systems. It would be desirable. I believe
    that this is the most important thing, if, at the expert level and then
    at the political level, we are able to start cooperation on a global
    missile defense system, as we are now talking about--[inaudible]--
    missile defense in Europe. If we manage to achieve this kind of level of
    cooperation on a global missile defense system, this will be the best
    kind of result for all our proceeding efforts.
        President Bush. Precisely what he said is true. And that is, is that
    if we can, first of all, earn enough trust to be able to cooperate
    regionally and then globally, that's in our interest, because one of the
    concerns from the Russian side, a clear concern, is that if they believe
    the system is aimed at them, they're going to obviously do something
    about it. They'll spend money to avoid the system.
        And I view this as defensive, not offense. And obviously, we've got
    a lot of work to do to convince the experts that the system is not aimed
    at Russia. It's really to help deal with the threats that we all are
    going to face. And therefore, the vision about having a global system is
    something I strongly support, where we're working cooperatively
    together. Look, there's a lot of--we got a lot of way to go.
        And as to your question about the Czech Republic and Poland, it's
    important for the leaders in those countries--and I've discussed the
    issue with them--to understand that Russia is not an enemy; Russia is
    somebody with whom we need to work. And we'll work through the
    differences there as well. Transparency is going to require more than
    just a briefing. Transparency is going to require true openness in a
    system.
        I have no problem with that. I have no problem sharing technologies
    and information to make sure that all people understand this system is
    designed to deal with multiple--I mean, single- or dual-launch regimes
    that could try to hold us hostage. This system is not designed to deal
    with Russia's capacity to launch multiple rockets.
        Now, we got work to do, but we've come a long way since our first
    discussions. And this document really does express a vision that will
    make it better for America and Russia when--to work together along these
    lines. And so yes, I thank you for your question.

    Russia-U.S. Relations/Missile Defense System/North Atlantic Treaty
    Organization

        Q. Thank you. Mr. President, your joint statement on missile defense
    is still far short of a deal for Russian support or even acquiescence on
    this project. Isn't this just a matter of kicking the can down the road,
    in the twilight of both of your terms, to a new U.S. administration that
    may or may not even support it?
        And, President Putin, what would it take for you to be convinced
    that such a system would not be a threat to Russian security? And how
    would Russia respond if the U.S. went ahead with this anyway, as well as
    bringing Ukraine and Georgia into NATO?
        President Bush. I think I just explained how far we have come on
    this issue. This is a concept that I talked to Vladimir about a while
    ago, and we have come a long way. Read the document, and read what it
    says. It clearly talks about a strategic relationship. It talks about
    the need for transparency and confidence-building measures. It is a
    really good opportunity to put a framework in place for our nations to
    work together.

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        Now, you can cynically say, it's kicking the can down the road. I
    don't appreciate that, because this is an important part of my belief
    that it's necessary to protect ourselves. And I have worked--reached out
    to Vladimir Putin. I knew this was of concern to him, and I have used my
    relationship with him to try to get something in place that causes
    Russia to be comfortable with it.
        Is it going to happen immediately? No, it's not going to happen
    immediately. But is this a good opportunity to work together? You bet it
    is--for the common good. And so I feel comfortable with it, and I think
    it is--you know, I happen to believe it is a significant breakthrough,
    simply because I've been very much involved with this issue and know how
    far it's come.
        President Putin. What could convince Russia that this system is not
    aimed against our nation? I would like to point out several elements
    here. First, the first--the best thing to do is to work jointly on a
    global missile defense, with an equal, democratic-style access to
    managing such a system. This is what George was just talking about when
    he said that, at the technological level, certain exchanges made it
    possible--information exchange may be possible. We can work jointly if
    we launch such joint work with equal democratic access to managing the
    system. This will be the best guarantee of the security of all.
        If we fail to do it at this point, then we will insist that the
    system, the transparency that we talk about, verification matters, could
    be objective and could work on--could function on an ongoing basis, on a
    permanent basis, with the help of experts that should be present at
    those sites on a permanent basis. This is the answer to the first part
    of your question.
        As far as NATO enlargement is concerned, we talked about it at
    length earlier today. I reaffirmed Russia's position on this count. I
    believe that in order to improve relations with Russia, it is necessary
    not to pull the former Soviet republics into political/military blocs,
    but to develop relations with Russia itself. And then the actions of the
    bloc, of this or that issue, in a few years will not be perceived so
    acutely in this country, as is the case today.
        As far as enlargement is concerned, technical enlargement of NATO, I
    believe that this is a policy which is in conformity with a former, old
    logic, when Russia was perceived as an adversary, which is no longer the
    case today. As Churchill said, ``If you can't change the subject, it is
    a sign of radicalism.''

    Global Security/Russia-U.S. Relations/President-elect Medvedev of Russia

        Q. My question is--first to both Presidents--you mentioned that
    yesterday and today you summed up the 8 years of your cooperation. I
    would like to ask you, if you assess your work, have there been more
    pluses or minuses? And please tell me, what have you achieved, and what
    concrete things will be bequeathed to your successors? Do you think the
    world has become a safer and more secure place? And how has the U.S.-
    Russian relationship influenced world politics?
        And my question to the United States now--to the President of the
    United States now--you have met President-elect today--Dmitry Medvedev.
    You talked about the impression you have of him. I would like to ask
    you, did you discuss the schedule of your further exchanges with him in
    the course of this year--for the remaining part of this year?
        President Putin. Okay, I will start answering. Has it become better,
    or has it become worse? We always want to have more of a good thing, and
    we shouldn't forget that the--as we say, the better is the worst enemy
    of the good.
        Let us remember the world on the brink of a nuclear disaster during
    the Caribbean crisis, and now let us look at the U.S.-Russia
    relationship today. A crisis like the Cuban crisis would not be possible
    now; it would be unthinkable. I agree with

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    George when he said that Russia and the United States no longer consider
    each other as enemies. At a minimum, they look at each other as
    partners, and I believe this is very important.
        Of course, a lot of outstanding issues remain. It is true that we do
    have disagreements on some sensitive areas of our cooperation, but at
    the same time, we do have enough strength to search for solutions. And
    as our meeting today has shown, we are capable of achieving positive
    results--that is, on the whole--in counterterrorism, in fighting
    proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology, of
    fighting the drug threat. All of these create a reliable platform for
    cooperation, not only between Russia and the United States but a
    platform that contributes to ensuring international security.
        If we mention on top of that our economic cooperation, we can state
    that in the past 8 years, we have been able to improve the relations
    between our two countries and in the world as a whole.
        President Bush. Yes, I agree with that answer. And secondly, I
    spent--I told President-elect that I would see him in Japan at the G-8,
    and that's the only scheduling matters that we discussed. And I'm going
    to finish out my term--my time with Vladimir, and then I'll turn my
    attention to the President when he gets to be the President. But the
    first time I suspect we'll meet will be in the scheduled meeting in
    Japan.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 12:07 p.m. in the Press
    Center at the Bocharov Ruchei. President Putin and some reporters spoke
    in Russian, and their remarks were translated by an interpreter.