[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 24 (Monday, June 18, 2007)]
[Pages 786-791]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With President Georgi Parvanov of 
Bulgaria in Sofia, Bulgaria

June 11, 2007

    President Parvanov. Distinguished members of the delegation, ladies 
and gentlemen: I would like briefly to outline the results of the 
discussions we just had and just closed with the President of the United 
States, George Bush. I must say, this is a very significant visit. It is 
another proof, a very cogent proof of the fact that our two countries' 
relations are in their best state now in more than a hundred years of 
their establishment.
    I am happy we had a chance today to draw the balance sheet of what 
has happened in the interim since the meeting, our visit there in 
Washington in October 2005. And indeed, the balance sheet is definitely 
positive. The United States and Bulgaria continue to be good, reliable 
partners within NATO, within the peacekeeping missions in different 
parts of the world. This is a firm, long-term commitment. It is not 
affected by the changes and setup of the political situations in both 
countries.
    The second thing that strikes about it is the new dynamics in the 
development of our economic relations. We have either new or updated 
treaties, bilateral treaties, which give the framework of our business 
contacts. There has been a sharp trend of improving the term over--and 
the American investments in Bulgaria, and the number of U.S. tourists to 
Bulgaria also is on the increase. However, this is not the ceiling. We 
believe there is a much greater potential, and this is why we should 
seek and explore the avenues of promoting these trends in several 
directions: A, by presenting a better, fuller, and more adequate image 
of Bulgaria in the United States, with an emphasis on the business 
information, addressed to the businesspeople. And I hope that the newly 
setup foundation, America for Bulgaria, will promote these efforts.
    Second, in the foreseeable future, very soon we will hopefully have 
a positive solution on the visa regime, on facilitating, lifting the 
visa barriers. And we do appreciate everything that President Bush has 
personally been doing in the light of the negotiations within the United 
States and the European Union. And we, in turn, pledge to do our best to 
meet our commitments on the security, which is one of the major criteria 
in addressing this issue.
    I believe we should make an effort to improve the structure of trade 
and investment. And I did lay down to my guest, President Bush, the 
possibility for a more significant involvement of American businesses in 
the major energy projects, both in Bulgaria and the Balkans, in the 
infrastructure, in the defense industry. A better cooperation in this 
area, in the defense industry, could be an important incentive for the 
development of our economy as a whole. I do hope we will have President 
Bush--the support of President Bush and the United States in our effort 
to modernize our armed forces at a faster

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pace, so that we could be effective and efficient in performing--
discharging our commitments as allies.
    And next, I would like to thank President Bush for the support we've 
always enjoyed from the United States to our efforts to find a fair, a 
just solution to the crisis with the Bulgarian medics in Libya and for 
their release. And I was happy to hear from him this repeated support.
    At the same time, we discussed the two countries' possibilities, 
both within the--our interaction with the European Union and otherwise, 
to support and help for the treatment of the AIDS-infected children and 
their families as a longer-term commitment through involvement in the 
International Fund, which is meant to streamline this process. And I did 
point out to President Bush that there are expectations both among the 
public and in the media in this country, an expectation from the major 
companies to get involved and to donate to this fund.
    We also discussed a wide range of international issues related to 
the situation in the Balkans, to our desire to play a stabilizing role 
in the Balkans, to be a factor of stability here. We also commented on 
some of the issues that are on both countries' agenda and on the agendas 
of the European Union and NATO.
    Thank you.
    President Bush. President Parvanov, thank you very much. I call him 
George. He calls me George. It's good to be here in your beautiful 
country. Laura and I are looking forward to our lunches together. Thank 
you very much.
    We are allies; we share values; and we believe in freedom. And I 
appreciate the progress your country has made toward a free society. And 
I thank you for being an ally in helping others realize the blessings of 
liberty. We have accepted our responsibilities to help defend freedom 
against terrorists and extremists, and it's hard work. And I thank the 
people of Bulgaria for understanding the stakes, the true challenges of 
the 21st century.
    We had a great discussion, and that's what you'd expect among 
friends. I am impressed by the transition that Bulgaria has made to a 
free market economy. Success is evidenced by results, by the results of 
attracting more capital. I know U.S. companies are seriously looking at 
Bulgaria, and that's because there is transparency and fairness in 
taxes. In other words, when somebody invests in a country, they expect 
to get a reasonable rate of return, and they expect government to not 
interfere but, in fact, to expedite the flow of capital. And so 
therefore, when the President talks about more capital coming to your 
country from the United States, it means that the government has made 
reforms necessary to attract capital.
    My call, of course, is to continue to make reforms, and if you find 
corruption, rout it out. People of Bulgaria expect their government to 
be open and honest, and so do those who spend capital in countries. And 
the President is committed to that, I know.
    We talked about the energy diversification program for Bulgaria. 
America has got to diversify its energy too. We're too dependent on 
foreign sources of energy. So we share a common goal about 
diversification of energy supply. We're in the process of spending a lot 
of money on new technologies that will enable us to diversify our energy 
supply and, at the same time, be good stewards of the environment. And I 
look forward to sharing those technologies with countries, once they 
become fully developed.
    I appreciate very much the reforms you made so that the EU is 
comfortable in accepting Bulgaria as a member state, and I congratulate 
you on those accomplishments. And of course, we're proud to stand with 
you in NATO. These are big achievements for this country, and the people 
of Bulgaria ought to be proud of the achievements that they have 
achieved.
    We discussed, of course, Iraq. And I thank the President and I thank 
the people of Bulgaria for supporting those in Iraq who long to live in 
a free society. The fight is tough in Iraq, and I know some of your 
families have suffered. And on behalf of our Nation, I extend our 
condolences and prayers to the families who have lost a loved one 
against these extremists and murderers.
    I thank you for your commitment to Afghanistan. And I appreciate so 
very much

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your willingness to do the hard work necessary to enable young 
democracies to survive in the face of significant opposition from 
ideologues who use murder as a weapon to achieve their objectives. Mr. 
President, I firmly believe the commitments that we're making are laying 
the foundations of peace for generations to come.
    I thank you for your advice on Kosovo. We spent some time talking 
about Kosovo. The time is now to move the Ahtisaari plan. We--America 
believes that Kosovo ought to be independent, and I sought the 
President's advice. One of the things he made clear is something I agree 
with, and that is, is that as we seek independence for Kosovo, we've 
also got to make it clear to the--Serbia that there's a way forward, 
maybe in NATO, maybe in the EU, and definitely in better relations with 
the United States. So I thank you for your sound judgment and your solid 
advice.
    We talked about the Bulgarian nurses. This is not the first 
conversation I've had with the President on this subject. He's deeply 
concerned about the fate of the nurses. We spoke in person about it at 
the White House; we have had phone calls on the subject; and of course, 
today, again, he emphasized his deep concern for the nurses and their 
families. And I appreciate your compassion, Mr. President.
    We strongly support the release of the Bulgarian nurses in Libya. 
That's the position of the United States. They should be released, and 
they should be allowed to be returned to their families. We will 
continue to make clear to Libya that the release of these nurses is a 
high priority for our country.
    Our hearts also go out to the children who have been infected by 
HIV/AIDS. Together with the EU, the United States is contributing to a 
fund to provide assistance to the Libyan children suffering from this 
disease and to their families. My hope is that this issue gets resolved 
quickly.
    We talked about visa reform. I assured the President what I said in 
the past is what I still believe, and that is, we need to reform our 
visa system. The system is stuck in the past. It can be reformed to work 
better for the citizens of this country. And I'm working with Congress 
to get it done. We're in the middle of an immigration debate, as well, 
in America. I hope that my country understands that it's in our interest 
to treat people with respect and to treat people fairly. And so I told 
the President that we'll continue to work with Congress to resolve this 
issue in a satisfactory way. I've laid out a way forward, and I'm 
committed to seeing it through.
    And so, George, thanks for having me. It's been a good visit. I'm 
looking forward to lunch. And I guess we'll answer some questions.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales/Immigration Reform

    Q. Good morning, Mr. President. You've had quite a week in Europe, 
and I wonder, as we head home, if I could ask you to turn to some 
domestic issues. Your Attorney General is under fire in the Senate. 
General Pace has had a setback. The immigration reform bill seems not to 
be moving very quickly. And I won't even mention the latest polls. So 
I'm just wondering, sir, as you head home, to what extent do you still 
have the political clout and capital to get some of these issues done? 
Do you have any left? If you do, how do you intend to use it?
    President Bush. First of all, we've had a great trip, Ed [Ed Chen, 
Los Angeles Times]. It's a chance for America to talk about a liberty 
agenda and a chance to talk to our allies about how we can advance it 
and what we can do together to make our respective countries better off.
    Listen, the immigration debate is a tough debate. I'm under no 
illusions about how hard it is. There are people in my party that don't 
want a comprehensive bill; there are people in the Democrat Party that 
don't seem to want a comprehensive bill. I was disappointed that the 
bill was temporarily derailed.
    I, frankly, find it a little interesting that a so-called important 
subject they need to get to would be to pass a political resolution on 
my Attorney General that's going to have no bearing on whether he serves 
in office or not.
    I believe we can get an immigration bill. Now, it's going to require 
leadership from the Democrat leaders in the Senate, and it's

[[Page 789]]

going to require me to stay engaged and work with Republicans who want a 
bill.
    Last--earlier in this trip, I called three members of the Senate 
from the Republican Party and said, what can we do together to get the 
bill back up? What do we need to do to work with Senators like Senator 
Ted Kennedy, who is strongly committed to a comprehensive bill? And 
tomorrow I'll be going to the Senate to talk about a way forward on the 
piece of legislation.
    It's important that we address this issue now. And I believe we can 
get it done. Listen, there was--a lot of progress was made between 
people in both parties making hard decisions necessary to move a 
comprehensive plan. It's in the Nation's interest to get a comprehensive 
bill done. So the political process sometimes isn't pretty to look at 
it. There's two steps forward, one step back. We made two steps forward 
on immigration; we took a step back; and now I'm going to work with 
those who are focused on getting an immigration bill done and start 
taking some steps forward again. I believe we can get it done. I'll see 
you at the bill signing.

Bulgarian Nurses Held in Libya

    Q. President Bush, you have already voiced your support in favor of 
our medics and their release. We appreciate that. Although--despite the 
fact that our fellow country people are still in prison, absolutely 
innocent, as you well know, I would like to ask you, as a part of the 
general effort to solve this drama, which has been going on for more 
than 8 years now, my question is, would you commit yourself to lobbying 
in front of the U.S. Congress and doing so that some of the funds under 
your 5-year program for fighting HIV/AIDS can go to supporting the 
children infected with AIDS and their families?
    And, President Parvanov, I would be happy to hear your view on the 
Libya issue, and notably, how would you comment the fact, or rather the 
Bulgarian media's idea, who are covering the trial in Libya, to send a 
letter to the hundred most influential representatives of the economy 
and business, according to the Forbes ratings, and call on them to 
donate to the building of modern, up-to-date medical center where 
children, or where people with HIV/AIDS could be treated?
    President Bush. There's a fund into which we're contributing money. 
And I don't think you ought to be concerned about the source of the 
funding. What you ought to be focused on is whether or not the U.S. is 
willing to commit funds, along with the EU. And we are. And at the same 
time, we're willing to send messages to the Libya Government that we 
expect the release of the nurses. We've been very much in concert with 
your Government. This is an issue that we care about. And so--but we do 
agree with the strategy that there ought to be some compensation for the 
Libyan children and their families.
    President Parvanov. Ladies and gentlemen, many of you know that I 
have visited Libya; I have visited the hospital in Benghazi. I've spoken 
with the parents and the infected children, and I'm clearly aware of the 
great drama they're suffering, they're going through, and how much needs 
to be done in order to invest in this hospital and in order to relieve 
the pain and suffering of both the children and their kin--and their 
families and friends.
    This is a Bulgarian, this is a European, this is a commitment of the 
entire democratic public, worldwide. By all means, Bulgaria and, I 
believe, our friends from the United States and the European Union 
consider this not a one-off, not a temporary--an attempt to release the 
nurses and then we quit. For us--and I'm happy that this was--we went 
along with George on this. For us, this is a long-term commitment. This 
is a commitment we take in respect of both those suffering in Benghazi, 
but also everyone suffering of AIDS, not just in Benghazi, but in the 
whole of Africa. Let's remember G-8 and their decision: $60 billion were 
allocated to this policy by the world democratic community a few days 
ago.
    I, for one, 6 months ago, in addressing the European Parliament, I 
said--and I appealed to the big players, so to speak, worldwide, in the 
businesses worldwide, to take a more--a firmer commitment to this fund, 
to donate more, contribute more to this fund. In this sense, I join my 
voice and I welcome

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and I do support the appeal which the Bulgarian media have issued. I 
hope their voice will be heard. I know, whenever the media speak, their 
voice is heard more clearly than that of politicians.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales/Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 
Staff

    Q. Mr. President, I want to take you back to domestic issues again. 
You say the no-confidence vote has no bearing as to whether Alberto 
Gonzales remains as Attorney General. How can he continue to be 
effective? And it seems like you're not listening to Congress when it 
comes to Gonzales, but you are listening to Congress when it comes to 
Peter Pace.
    President Bush. Yes, it's an interesting comment about Congress, 
isn't it, that, on the one hand, they say that a good general shouldn't 
be reconfirmed, and on the other hand, they say that my Attorney General 
shouldn't stay. And I find it interesting. I guess it reflects the 
political atmosphere of Washington. And they can try to have their votes 
of no confidence, but it's not going to determine--make the 
determination who serves in my Government.
    Pete Pace was going to go up for confirmation. That's the 
difference. I have--I had confidence in Pete Pace. But people view this 
as an opportunity to make statements, and upon the recommendation of 
Secretary of Defense Gates, I agreed to send up another nominee.
    And as to Al Gonzales--first of all, this process has been drug out 
a long time, which says to me it's political. There's no wrongdoing. You 
know, he--they haven't said, ``Here's--you've done something wrong, 
Attorney General Gonzales.'' And therefore, I ascribe this lengthy 
series of news stories and hearings as political. And I'll make the 
determination if I think he's effective or not, not those who are using 
an opportunity to make a political statement on a meaningless 
resolution.

Missile Defense System/Energy

    Q. President, clearly the relations between our two countries, 
politically, have been very good. How could we achieve the same in the 
area of security, in the context of the anti-missile shield, our 
common--our cooperation in using common sites, and also in respect of 
the trade investment?
    President Bush. Do you want me to start on the missiles? The 
proposed missile shield is aimed at long-range missiles, missiles that 
would fly over Bulgaria. There are missile systems and defense systems 
available that would deal with intermediate-range missiles. And so just 
because Bulgaria is not a part of the longer-range missile shield 
doesn't mean that there won't be equipment and help available for 
intermediate range. That's how I can answer that question.
    I know this creates some concerns around Europe, this missile 
shield, because of Russian objections. And so I had a meeting with 
President Putin in Germany at the G-8 and explained to him what I've 
been saying publicly, is, the missile shield would be developed to deal 
with a rogue regime that would try to hold a free nation hostage, or 
free nations hostage, that it's not aimed at Russia.
    I talked to Vladimir Putin a lot about our relations and made it 
clear that I simply do not view Russia as an enemy. I view Russia as a 
country with whom we should have and can have good relations to solve 
common problems.
    One such problem is Iran. Another problem is proliferation. There 
are areas we can work together, and he brought an interesting proposal. 
He said, ``I have an idea. Why don't we jointly use a radar in 
Azerbaijan to help deal with a potential threat?'' And I said, ``That's 
a good idea. I don't know how--whether it's technologically feasible; 
I'm not an expert. I've got experts in my Government, however, who could 
analyze your proposal, and I'd like for you to maybe--not maybe--I'd 
like for you to assign some experts in your Government to analyze my 
proposal.''
    And that's where we left it in Germany. So we're going to have a 
group of people come together from the State Department, Defense 
Department, and the military to discuss how to deal with the true 
threats of the 21st century.
    And I would hope that would help explain some of the rhetoric that 
people in your country have seen coming out of the G-8,

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that there's a process where we can collaborate and share information in 
a very transparent way, which I think will be beneficial. And I would 
hope that the Russians would see the meetings as beneficial and out of 
the meetings realize our true intent, and hopefully design systems that 
protect us all.
    President Parvanov. I would like to begin by saying that we welcome 
the strategic dialog, and it was described as a strategic dialog by both 
leaders, both by President Bush and by Putin, a dialog which started 
within the framework of G-8. We Bulgarians would accept any solution 
that would provide more guarantees, more security guarantees, more 
guarantees of the indivisibility of the security of the Euro-Atlantic 
space--any solution that has been achieved, hammered out through dialog 
and in transparency, and any solution that is not directed against a 
third country, notably Russia in this case.
    I would take the liberty of paraphrasing something that was said in 
Prague--hopefully my source was reliable; the President would correct me 
if I'm wrong or imprecise--the Bulgarians must not choose between their 
friendship with the United States and that with Russia. The Bulgarians 
should and can maintain friendly relations with both countries. Just as 
I am a friend with George and a friend with Vladimir, we could maintain, 
within the context of our Euro-Atlantic orientation, friendly relations 
with both without diluting the things, without losing sight of our 
strategic priorities. We should maintain relations with everyone who 
thinks likewise.
    This means the same approach would apply to the energy, the 
infrastructure sphere. This is why Bulgaria maintains--has maintained 
active relations with Russia on the major infrastructure, or rather 
energy projects.
    I myself, earlier today, offered to President Bush a clearer, firmer 
commitment by American companies to the energy project. Chevron, in 
respect of Bourgas-Alexandroupolis, or AMBO--I'm not going to list them 
all here--this is an investment in peace and the security of the region. 
This is a geostrategic contribution. And I'm saying this both as the 
President of Bulgaria, but also as a citizen of the Balkans, a region 
for whose fate and future I feel responsible.
    President Bush. Thank you.

Note: The President's news conference began at 10:35 a.m. at the 
National Museum of Archaeology. In his remarks, he referred to former 
President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, United Nations Special Envoy of 
the Secretary-General for the Future Status Process of Kosovo. President 
Parvanov and some reporters spoke in Bulgarian, and their remarks were 
translated by an interpreter.