[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 27 (Monday, July 10, 2006)]
[Pages 1267-1270]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With President Mikheil Saakashvili of 
Georgia and an Exchange With Reporters

July 5, 2006

    President Bush. We'll have opening statements and a couple of 
questions.
    First, Mr. President, welcome. I was--reminded the President about 
what a fantastic visit I had to Georgia. Laura and I will never forget 
your hospitality; we will never forget the food, for which Georgia is 
quite famous; we will never forget the fantastic folk dancing we saw. 
And then I'll never forget our visits and the speech to the Georgian 
people. It was a fantastic trip.
    It was made fantastic because my friend not only was a good host, 
but he is a man who shares the same values I share. He believes in the 
universality of freedom. He believes that democracy is the best way to 
yield the peace. The Georgian Government and the people of Georgia have 
acted on those beliefs. I want to thank you for your contribution in 
Iraq, to help the Iraqi people realize the great benefits of democracy. 
It's hard work, but it's necessary work.
    We had a very good discussion about a variety of topics. I assured 
the President that Georgia is our friend, and we care deeply about the 
people of Georgia. It's a remarkable experience has taken place. I 
congratulate the President and his Government on creating an economic 
climate that fosters growth and opportunity. I love the stories about 
the entrepreneurial spirit that's beginning to flourish.
    And one of the interesting stories that captured my imagination is 
when the President first came into office and he cleaned out the police 
forces in order to rid the country of corruption in the law 
enforcement--understanding full well that the people must trust security 
in order for a society to flourish.
    And so, Mr. President, you've got hard work ahead of you. You've 
tackled problems with vigor and enthusiasm. But most importantly, you've 
stayed true to a philosophy that I admire. So welcome back to the Oval 
Office, and please give your good wife all my very best.

[[Page 1268]]

    President Saakashvili. I will certainly tell Sandra. And I mean, Mr. 
President, it was an incredible honor for me to stand next to you in the 
Freedom Square in Tbilisi. And I felt like it was, you know, after--it 
was vindication for all those Georgians, including my family members, 
who perished in gulag, who died fighting for their freedom, their 
liberty, their independence. And, basically, this was an incredible 
occasion because I'm also--I've studied diplomacy for many years, and I 
can tell you, it was brilliant exercise of self-diplomacy, the way you 
appreciated our culture, our openness, our warmth. And we will certainly 
never forget it.
    Georgia is, indeed, performing. It is a very--I mean, it has strong 
economic growth. This is a very beautiful country that attracts lots of 
investment now. We have low tax rates, but we dramatically increased our 
tax collection, which means that low taxes and less government is a very 
good thing to have, as you well know.
    So basically, we are getting there. And one thing, you know, we 
discussed with President Bush the upcoming G-8 summit. And, certainly, 
there are lots of issues that are at stake there, and we believe very 
strongly in the same values, in the same principles. And we are talking 
to the President--to the country, which is the--for Georgians, I mean, 
for generations of Georgians, American freedom are synonymous--they have 
been synonymous for me all my life, when I lived under Soviets and after 
that. And it still stays very much that way, because all freedom-loving 
people today, whenever they have something to share with somebody, come 
to America. And this is a very strong thing.
    And one thing I can tell, Mr. President, your freedom agenda does 
indeed work. I mean, you can see it in Georgia. We are seeing it in 
Iraq. And please stay there; please fight there until the end. We will 
stay with you there, whatever it takes, because your success in Iraq is 
success for countries like Georgia. It's a success for every individual 
that loves freedom, every individual that wants security, to live in 
more secure world for himself, herself, or their children. And whatever 
it takes to help you--we are not a big country--we are beautiful, small 
country with lots of attractions--I invited you to come. I had mountain 
biking here yesterday, and I invited you to come over and have mountain 
biking in Georgia.
    But one thing is important, that you know we really cherish the same 
things. And I'm so honored to be here on the Independence Day, and I 
watched yesterday fireworks--and around the time of your birthday. So 
happy birthday. I'm honored to be invited now. [Laughter] And God bless 
you, America, Georgia, and the whole world. Thank you very much.
    President Bush. Mr. President, thank you. Deb [Deb Riechmann, 
Associated Press].

North Korea

    Q. Mr. President, on North Korea, how is it possible to punish a 
country that is one of the poorest and most isolated in the world? And 
secondly, had you been hoping for a stronger response from China?
    President Bush. The North Korean Government can join the community 
of nations and improve its lot by acting in concert with those who--with 
those of us who believe that she shouldn't possess nuclear weapons, and 
by those of us who believe that there's a positive way forward for the 
North Korean Government and her people. In other words, this is a choice 
they make. Yesterday, as you know, they fired off a series of rockets. 
The world had--particularly those of us in the six-party talks--had 
asked for that not to happen. It's a matter of good faith. The 
Government made a different decision.
    And so it's their choice to make. What these firing of the rockets 
have done is they've isolated themselves further, and that's sad for the 
people of North Korea. I am deeply concerned about the plight of the 
people of North Korea. I would hope that the Government would agree to 
verifiably abandon its weapons programs. I would hope that there would 
be a better opportunity to--for that Government and its people to move 
forward. The Chinese will play--have played and will continue to play a 
very important role in the six-party talks. It's my view that the best 
way to solve this problem diplomatically is for there to be more than 
one nation speaking to North Korea, more than America voicing our 
opinions.

[[Page 1269]]

    And therefore, the five of us--Russia, South Korea, Japan, China, 
and the United States--spoke with one voice about the rocket launches, 
and we will work together to continue to remind the leader of North 
Korea that there is a better way forward for his people.
    Georgia.
    President Saakashvili. You know, regarding the--I mean, I'm not 
intervening off the agenda, but one thing I have to tell you, in 
Georgia, that I just sent over to President Bush the letter that 
Georgian freedom fighters sent him 7 years ago, and it never made it to 
the White House. It was intercepted by KGB, and all the people who wrote 
it were shot.
    I'm sure lots of people out there in Korea are writing similar 
letters today. And I'm sure that North Korean missiles will never reach 
the United States, but those letters will, eventually, very soon, 
because that's a part of freedom agenda that President Bush has and what 
we strongly believe in.
    President Bush. Do you want to call on a Georgia?
    President Saakashvili. Please. Wherever.

Georgia/North Atlantic Treaty Organization

    Q. Mr President, Georgia is planning IPP to NATO. What do you think, 
how fast can Georgia finish this IPP process and get Membership Action 
Plan? And do you think that Georgia should and will be a NATO member 
during your Presidency? Thank you, sir.
    President Bush. Listen, I believe that NATO would benefit with 
Georgia being a member of NATO, and I think Georgia would benefit. And 
there's a way forward through the Membership Action Plan. And we--we'll 
work with our partners in NATO to see if we can't make the path a little 
smoother for Georgia. Georgia has got work to do, and the President 
understands that. But I'm a believer in the expansion of NATO. I think 
it's in the world's interest that we expand NATO.
    Kelly [Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News].

North Korea

    Q. Thank you, sir. On the North Korean missiles, what have you 
learned about their intentions or their capabilities, and what threat 
level do you think they still possess given that their intercontinental 
missile failed?

    President Bush. I spoke with Secretary Rumsfeld yesterday. He called 
me right after the launch, and he said they had preliminary information 
that they were going to analyze about the trajectory of the larger 
rocket. The other five rockets that were fired, the scuds, were--their 
performance was pretty predictable. It's kind of a routine weapon that 
some of these nations have.

    I asked him this morning, again, when I met with him about the 
information. They're still analyzing, trying to figure out the intention 
of the North Korean leader as to why he would have fired the rocket and 
what they were trying to learn from it.

    One thing we have learned is that the rocket didn't stay up very 
long and tumbled into the sea, which doesn't, frankly, diminish my 
desire to solve this problem. So the first part of your question is, 
we're still analyzing what the intentions were. We're trying to analyze 
the data to determine flight path, for example.

    I view this as an opportunity to remind the international community 
that we must work together to continue to work hard to convince the 
North Korean leader to give up any weapons programs. They've agreed to 
do that in the past, and we will hold them to account. And I also 
strongly believe that it is much more effective to have more than one 
nation dealing with North Korea. It's more effective for them to hear 
from a group of nations rather than one nation.

    And so today the Secretary of State, starting last night, the 
Secretary of State has been in touch with counterparts. I, of course, 
will be on the phone as well. We want to send--to continue to send a 
clear message that there is a better way forward for the leader of North 
Korea. It's hard to understand his intentions. It's hard to understand 
why he would not only fire one missile that failed but five others. And 
so we're talking with our friends and allies on the subject.

[[Page 1270]]

Spread of Democracy/Georgia-U.S. Relations

    Q. Mr. President, as you mentioned, you've faced a lot of important 
challenges in many places like Iran and Iraq, Afghanistan, and North 
Korea. And at the same time, the whole world recognizes your personal 
role in promoting democracy and freedom all around. And how do you 
think, is there any chance that Georgia's aspiration to build free and 
democratic country may be left off of your agenda?
    President Saakashvili. Tricky question.
    President Bush. Freedom--I believe freedom is universal. And I 
believe the spread of liberty is important for peace. And therefore, the 
freedom agenda will be at the heart of everything I do. The freedom 
agenda is ingrained in my--it's not only ingrained in my policy; it's 
ingrained in my soul. I believe it strongly. And I believe the United 
States has an obligation to work with others to help them secure their 
liberty.
    I understand that elections are only the beginning of the freedom 
agenda and that there's work needed to be done around the world, 
including our own country, to continue to build strong institutions and 
build the organizations necessary for a civil society to develop. 
Remember, ours was a country that wrote a great Constitution but 
enslaved people for 100 years. It takes time. And so I understand that, 
and I want to work with our friends that ask. Georgia is a sovereign 
government, and when governments say, ``Will you help,'' America must 
always listen to requests for help, and specifically to Georgia.
    One of the signature pieces of policy in my administration has been 
the Millennium Challenge Account. It's a foreign funding mechanism that 
recognizes countries that fight corruption, support rule of law, invest 
in the health and education of their people, and adopt open markets. And 
one of the most robust Millennium Challenge Account projects is with 
Georgia. It's a sign--should be a sign to the people of Georgia and 
people in the neighborhood that the United States respects the decisions 
this Government has made and wants to work closely with the people of 
Georgia to help Georgia succeed, to help create the conditions for 
success.
    And so to answer your question, yes, I've got a lot that comes to my 
desk here, absolutely. I've got a lot to think about. But my friend, the 
President, wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't have Georgia on my mind. 
[Laughter]
    Thank you all very much.

Note: The President spoke at 2:15 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Sandra Roelofs, wife of President 
Saakashvili; and Chairman Kim Jong Il of North Korea.