[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 6 (Monday, February 13, 2006)]
[Page 223]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With President Lech Kaczynski of Poland

February 9, 2006

    President Bush. Mr. President, welcome to the Oval Office. It's 
really good to have you here. We have just had a extensive discussion 
about important issues. After this press statement, we'll go have lunch 
and continue our discussions. And we've got a lot to discuss, because 
we're strong allies and friends. We're friends in liberty. We believe in 
peace.
    I told the President, it's amazing to be sitting with somebody who 
knows the difference between living in a society that is not independent 
and not free, and one that--and now he's the President of a free 
country. I thanked the President and the Polish people for their support 
of the democracy movement in Iraq.
    We had a very interesting discussion about NATO and the European 
Union. You can be an active member of the EU, a loyal member of the EU, 
and a friend of the United States at the same time. I asked the 
President his advice on Ukraine. That's what friends do; they share 
information and share strategic thoughts.
    We talked about the importance for commercial ties. We'll continue 
those discussions over lunch. The President of Poland comes to a country 
that respects Poland. There's a lot of Polish Americans that have still 
got great pride for the homeland. We congratulate you on your victory 
and welcome you.
    Thanks for coming.
    President Kaczynski. President Bush has spoken of the subject of our 
talks. The first part has been extended, to a certain extent, and we 
will continue our discussions during lunch. We have discussed issues 
relating to NATO, the European Union, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia and 
Iraq and Afghanistan. In other words, to say very briefly, we've 
discussed all issues that both countries are interested in.
    Mr. President and myself have discussed issues relating to freedom 
in the Ukraine and Belarus. And the support of the United States for all 
actions that are leading to freedom in Ukraine and Belarus are very 
important for Poland at the same time. There have been certain signals 
that might lead to an improvement of relations between the Republic of 
Poland and the Russian Federation. We have no certainty yet, but these 
signals we have received, and we're hoping for an improvement in 
relations between Poland and Russia.
    We shall continue our talks in a few minutes.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:57 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. President Kaczynski spoke in Polish, and his remarks were 
translated by an interpreter.