On the eve of his European tour, President George W. Bush was interviewed at the White House. A reporter was present from each country George W. Bush is planning to visit in the course of his tour (besides Russia, these are the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Romania). Izvestia's US correspondent Yevgeny Bai represented the Russian press.
After Bai asked Mr. Bush the first question, there was a pause. The question was about Chechnya, while the president seemed to be expecting the Russian journalist to ask him about the purpose of his visit to St. Petersburg.
George W. Bush: You haven't asked the question I was expecting, but I'll answer it anyway (laughing). I'm going to Russia to make it clear to Russia and to Vladimir Putin they have nothing to fear from NATO expansion; that having the Baltic states as NATO members will be favorable for Russia. Without a doubt, I accepted Vladimir's invitation to visit St. Petersburg. It is very important for me to make this trip and explain to him why I think NATO expansion is a positive development for Russia.
During the meeting, the president emphasized several times that NATO's mission now is fundamentally different from what it was in the years of the Cold War. George W. Bush said: "Russia is not a threat, and therefore the military strategies of NATO need to be changed to recognize that new reality. The Warsaw Pact doesn't exist. However, there is a threat to all of us in the form of international and global terrorism, which we must be able to deal with."
Question: Mr. President, does it seem to you that following the recent events - the hostage-taking in Moscow and Osama bin Laden's audiotaped message, in which he publicly praised those who organized the hostage-taking - that America has gained a clearer view of the threat posed by Chechen terrorism? Do you agree with President Putin's statement that the Chechen terrorism threatening Russia and bin Laden's terrorism threatening America are of the same nature?
George W. Bush: First of all, I'd like to say that in Vladimir Putin I've found a reliable associate in the cause of combating terrorism. He understands how high the stakes in this conflict are. So do I. I know that during the hostage crisis in a Moscow theater he found himself in a precarious situation. All of the 800 people could have been killed then. He made some very tough decisions. People try to blame Vladimir, they ought to blame the terrorists. They're the ones who caused this situation - not President Putin. Undoubtedly, the hostage-takers were killers, just like those who attacked America. Yes, we are standing against a common threat, which we must jointly repulse. To the extent that there are al-Qaida members infiltrating Russia, they need to be dealt with, they need to be brought to justice. When Osama bin Laden is praising these Muslim attacks from Chechnya, this proves that he has his own concerns in Chechnya.
We are involved in an effort in Georgia - trying, on the one hand, to facilitate dialog between Shevardnadze and Putin; and, on the other hand, developing a joint strategy for fighting al-Qaida terrorists who may be hiding in the Pankisi gorge. At the same time, during my meeting I will continue to talk to Vladimir about the need to protect and recognize the rights of minorities in any country, and at the same time deal with terrorism. I hope he can find that balance. (protection of ethnic minorities' rights. - ed. note) It is my strong conviction that he can.
The next question was related to the talk of the day: the Iraq situation.
Question: Do you think Russia's support of the UN Security Council's resolution has brought the positions of Washington and Moscow on the Iraq issue closer? What are you planning to tell the Russian president regarding your further steps in Iraq?
George W. Bush: I greatly appreciate the joint work on the resolution. The UN Security Council sent a clear signal to Iraq that we expect it to disarm unconditionally. Simultaneously, the Security Council has staked its authority. Does it make sense that it had passed 16 resolutions previously, with which the Iraqi regime hadn't the slightest wish to comply? It is my hope now that this international body has approved an important document, which will force Baghdad to act. We are gaining a real means of disarming Iraq, and we are very glad that doing this jointly is a success.
I'll tell Vladimir that the core of the endeavor is obtaining full disarmament on the part of Iraq, rather than sending international inspectors into Iraq. I hope doing this peacefully is a success. However, everything now depends on Saddam Hussein. He must admit whether or not he possesses weapons of mass destruction. I'll tell Putin about my determination. If Saddam disobeys the demands of the resolution, we'll then consider our further steps. If military action is necessary, as I've said before, we will consult our allies on this point. I repeat: hopefully, disarmament of Saddam will be obtained peacefully; unless this happens, we will head the coalition of associates which will pursue this goal by different means. One way or another, Saddam Hussein will be disarmed. (Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin)