[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.
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    * White House correction.
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    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

[[Page 475]]

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.

[[Page 476]]

    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

[[Page 477]]

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.

[[Page 478]]

    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.