[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 44 (Monday, November 7, 2005)]
[Pages 1626-1627]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of 
Italy

October 31, 2005

    President Bush. The Prime Minister and I will make statements. Thank 
you very much. Welcome.
    It is good to have my friend back in the Oval Office. I say ``my 
friend'' because it seems like we see each other a lot, and every time 
we do, I appreciate your advice and your counsel. Relations between 
Italy and the United States are strong, and the relationship between our 
countries is important. It's important for our economies, and I'm 
pleased to know that trade is--between our countries is vibrant.
    And this relationship is important because the United States has a 
strong partner in peace. I want to thank Silvio's strong commitment to 
the freedom of people in Afghanistan and in Iraq. I appreciate his 
strong vision of peace in the Balkans. In the past, we worked closely 
together to help the Libyan leader understand that we're living in a 
different world, a world in which we've got to work together for peace.
    So it's my honor to welcome you back, Mr. Prime Minister.
    Prime Minister Berlusconi. Thank you.
    President Bush. And thank you for coming.
    Prime Minister Berlusconi. Thank you, Mr. President. It's now a 
habit for me to come and pay homage to the President of the United 
States here at the Oval Office. It's always a pleasure for me. And it's 
a pleasure for me to come and see a friend, the leader of a friendly 
country.
    Italy will be always--be grateful to the United States for what this 
country has been doing to free us from totalitarianism in the past 
century. And it is for us a reason of pride to be next, side by side 
with our American

[[Page 1627]]

ally in broadening the borders of democracy and freedom in the world and 
in order to pursue peace, which is something we all aspire to.
    I, personally, admire, very strong, the leadership shown by 
President Bush. He has--[inaudible]--the same values and the same 
principles I have. And he is very consistent in the decisions that he 
carries on. And I do believe that President Bush and what he has been 
doing will remain ingrained in history. In a sensitive moment of our 
global history, he will mark history as the one who had--he was so 
farsighted, because also within United Nations, he carried out a mission 
of democracy.
    And this is the reason why Italy is a member of the community of 
democracies, and we provide our support and contribution to the Fund for 
Democracy that President Bush established and which we joined recently 
in New York.
    President Bush. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:44 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-
Qadhafi, leader of Libya. Prime Minister Berlusconi spoke in Italian, 
and his remarks were translated by an interpreter. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.