[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 47 (Monday, November 25, 2002)]
[Pages 2069-2070]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With LNK TV of Lithuania

November 18, 2002

President's Upcoming Visit to Lithuania

    Q. Mr. President, you are the first President of the United States 
to visit Lithuania. What is your message to Lithuania's people?
    The President. Well, first, I'm honored to be invited. Secondly, I'm 
really looking forward to it. And my message is: You're free. Freedom is 
precious, and we welcome our friends the Lithuanians into the--as a free 
nation into the brotherhood of nations.
    I'll also say to the world that the Baltic countries know what it 
means to live under fear and the lack of freedom, and to have these 
countries be allied with the United States and other nations is 
important to our soul. It's important to have that sense of freedom as a 
source of vigor and strength, and a very important alliance. That's what 
I want to say.

War on Terror

    Q. What are America and Lithuania going to do after the Prague, 
together?
    The President. Well, we're going to work to fight terror. That's the 
new threat we face. It's most evident here in America because we've been 
under attack, and we're still under attack. People still want to hurt us 
because of what we stand for. But countries which love freedom are not 
immune from these people. These are coldblooded killers, and we've got a 
charge to keep for a long time coming. And the best way to do that is 
work together.
    So the NATO mission is one of defending freedom by fighting against 
those who would try to defeat freedom, which means we've got to share 
intelligence, work together militarily in a way that complements 
everybody, cut off the money of the terrorists. I mean, there's a lot to 
do. But that's the true threat that we face.
    Russia is no longer a threat. After Prague, I'm going to Russia. And 
I'm going to say to the Russian people, ``You shouldn't fear

[[Page 2070]]

expansion of NATO to your border. These are peace-loving people. These 
are freedom-loving people that are now on your border. You ought to 
welcome them. It should help Russian security''--that the cold war is 
over, that the United States doesn't view Russia as a threat and neither 
does NATO. So we've got to address our sights to the new threats.

Russia-U.S. Relations

    Q. Relationship between Western democracies and Russia seems to be 
very friendly. But do you really trust President Putin?
    The President. Sure, of course. I press any leader that doesn't 
believe 100 percent in freedom, and of course I do--I'm--freedom of the 
press or Chechnya or issues that indicate that there might not be a 
whole-hearted commitment to freedom of the people. I do it in a way 
that's a friendly way. I believe the best way to work together is to do 
it in a spirit of cooperation. I believe the best way to make sure we've 
got good relations is to make it clear that there's no animosity. But of 
course I do. I work very closely with him. Russia is an important 
country.
    And we want Russia to be a country based upon the values which we 
share, because we believe those values are the best values for the human 
condition of everybody. I like to tell people, freedom is not an 
American gift; freedom is a gift from the almighty God. And I firmly 
believe that. And freedom is important in any country in the world.

Lithuania

    Q. Some people wonder why the United States, the superpower of the 
world, pays so much attention to the small Baltic state Lithuania. What 
could you tell those people?
    The President. Well, I can tell those people everybody matters. See, 
our country believes in the worth of every individual. We believe 
everybody is precious; everybody counts; and that we are rooted, our 
whole history and our very being is rooted, on the notion of people 
being able to realize their dreams. And that's what we believe.
    That's why we never recognized the Soviet domination of the Baltics. 
We called Lithuania independent for all those years. And now we can say 
Lithuania is independent, and Lithuania is forever free. And that's our 
commitment.

Future of NATO

    Q. How do you imagine the future of NATO Alliance after new members 
will join?
    The President. Better--better because the--NATO will have this new 
spirit. Listen, if you lived under slavery and subjugation and you're 
free, there's a spirit. There's a strength of purpose. There's a 
remembrance of what it's like. There's no gray areas between good and 
evil. That's an important spirit in NATO. Lithuania brings a wonderful 
spirit of strength of purpose, of endurance.
    Secondly, as we change the military strategy to reflect the new 
threat--see, Russia is not a threat militarily. The threats that we now 
face come from a global terror network. And we'll change our military 
capabilities to meet the strategies necessary to defeat terrorism. And 
Lithuania will have an important contribution to make, as will all 
countries in NATO. So the expansion of NATO will make it easier for us 
to defend the peace.
    Q. Mr. President, thank you very much, indeed. It was a great 
pleasure to talk to you.
    The President. We'll see you in Vilnius.
    Q. Thank you.
    The President. It's going to be exciting for me.
    Q. For us, too. We're waiting for that.
    The President. I can't wait. Thanks. Make sure the weather is good, 
will you? [Laughter]
    Q. Yes, we'll do our best. Thank you.

Note: The interview was videotaped at 1:32 p.m. in the Library at the 
White House. In his remarks, the President referred to President 
Vladimir Putin of Russia. The transcript of this interview was released 
by the Office of the Press Secretary on November 21. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of this interview.