[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
[August 16, 2008]
[Pages 1144-1145]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Crawford, Texas
August 16, 2008

Situation in Georgia

    Good morning. I just had a briefing by my national security team on 
the latest updates--on the latest developments in Georgia, and there is 
some progress to report.
    First of all, I want to thank Secretary of State Rice for her trip, and thank you for coming back here 
to Crawford to give me a firsthand briefing.
    She went to Tbilisi, met with President 
Saakashvili and his team. And during 
that time, the President signed the six-point peace plan negotiated by 
President Sarkozy on behalf of the European 
Union. President Medvedev of Russia has 
now signed on to the terms of this agreement. And that's an important 
development; it's a hopeful step.
    Now Russia needs to honor the agreement and withdraw its forces and, 
of course, end military operations.
    Secretary Rice will soon travel to 
Brussels, where she will meet with the foreign ministers of our NATO 
allies, EU officials to continue to rally the free world in the defense 
of a free Georgia.
    This morning, also, I was briefed by Secretary Gates on the U.S. military's humanitarian mission to help the 
Georgian people recover from the trauma they have suffered. In recent 
days of--military flights have landed in Georgia to provide relief 
supplies, and more will be arriving in the days ahead.
    A major issue is Russia's contention that the regions of South 
Ossetia and Abkhazia may not be a part of Georgia's future. But these 
regions are a part of Georgia, and the international community has 
repeatedly made clear that they will remain so. Georgia is a member of 
the United Nations, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia lie within its 
internationally recognized borders. Georgia's borders should command the 
same respect as every other nation's.
    There's no room for debate on this matter. The United Nations 
Security Council

[[Page 1145]]

has adopted numerous resolutions concerning Georgia. These resolutions 
are based on the premise that South Ossetia and Abkhazia remain within 
the borders of Georgia and that their underlying conflicts will be 
resolved through international negotiations. These resolutions are based 
on the premise that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are to be considered a 
part of the Georgian territory, and that to the extent that there's 
conflicts, they will be resolved peacefully.
    These resolutions reaffirm Georgia's sovereignty and independence 
and territorial integrity. Russia itself has endorsed these resolutions. 
The international community is clear that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are 
part of Georgia, and the United States fully recognizes this reality.
    We will continue to stand behind Georgia's democracy; we will 
continue to insist that Georgia's sovereignty and independence and 
territorial integrity be respected.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 9:06 a.m. at the Bush Ranch. In his 
remarks, he referred to President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia; and 
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, in his capacity as President of the 
European Council.