FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Will Bohlen Elizabeth Boswell Rega
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Transcripts, audio, video on the web: http://www.bucharestconference.org/
Bush: Missile Defense “Real and Urgent”
~ President invites Russia to join missile defense system, urges NATO to extend MAP to Georgia and Ukraine, calls for more alliance troops in Afghanistan ~
BUCHAREST (April 2, 2008) — U.S. President George W. Bush, in a speech today that opened the Bucharest Conference’s second day of activities, offered guarantees to President Vladimir Putin that the proposed U.S. anti-missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic is not a threat to Russia.
“The Cold War is over,” Bush said. “Russia is not our enemy. We are working toward a new security relationship with Russia whose foundation does not rest on the prospect of mutual annihilation.”
Bush will travel to Sochi, Russia, later this week to have formal discussions with Putin. At the event, Bush announced that the U.S. will invite Russia to join in its effort to protect Russia, Europe, and the United States against emerging threats like Iran.
“The need for missile defense in Europe is real and it is urgent,” Bush said. “Iran is pursuing technology that could be used to produce nuclear and ballistic missiles of increasing range that could deliver them…Today, we have no way to defend Europe against this emerging threat – so we must deploy ballistic missile defenses here that can.”
Another concern of Russia is the extension of a Membership Action Plan (MAP) to Georgia and Ukraine. Bush sent a strong message to NATO today that Georgia and Ukraine should be offered MAP. “These two nations inspired the world with their Rose and Orange revolutions and now they are working to consolidate their democratic gains and cement their independence,” Bush said. “Welcoming them into the Membership Action Plan would send a strong signal to their citizens that if they continue on the path of democracy and reform they will be welcomed into the institutions of Europe.”
Citing a message from Osama bin Laden, Bush also called on NATO to supply more troops to Afghanistan. "We ask other NATO nations to step forward with additional forces as well," Bush said. "If we do not defeat the terrorists in Afghanistan, we will face them on our own soil."
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The Bucharest Conference, happening alongside the official 2008 NATO Summit, is a high-level meeting of influential political, corporate, and intellectual leaders to address pressing challenges facing NATO and the international community. Participants include heads of state, senior officials from country governments, policymakers, think tank leaders, scholars, corporate executives, and media.
NATO’s operation in Afghanistan, the alliance’s enlargement, its future role in global affairs, and Russia’s relationship with the West are just a few of the current and future issues being discussed at the Bucharest Conference. The conference continues the tradition of the German Marshall Fund’s 2004 Istanbul Conference and 2006 Riga Conference by providing a platform for an open dialogue among participants and speakers representing countries and organizations worldwide.
The Bucharest Conference is organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Chatham House.
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