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Bush Speaking, Meeting with Various Allies

Aired September 06, 2002 - 14:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The White House says the presidents of Russia, France, and China expressed their appreciation to the president today for phoning them to talk about Iraq, but it's far from clear that Mr. Bush won anybody over.
To the contrary, officials in Moscow say President Putin expressed serious doubts about the legal or political basis for the U.S. policy aimed at toppling Saddam Hussein.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is live from the White House with more on these numbers of phone calls taking place -- Suzanne, hello.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. Well, the president was really working the phones this morning to our most critical allies, trying to convince them the need to oust Saddam Hussein. He spoke with France's Jacques Chirac as well as China's Jiang Zemin, and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

We are told that he talked with them for about ten minutes apiece. Now, White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer saying, really, the purpose of these talks was to reassure them that the president would continue to consult with them, that he values their opinion, to reiterate that Saddam Hussein is a threat to the world, but also to emphasize that the administration has not made any type of determination or decision about military action. Now, as you mentioned before, did he sway anyone's opinion? There is certainly no indication of that, but White House aides saying that quite frankly, that was not the purpose of this. We know that all three leaders have been very vocal against using military options, strikes inside of Iraq. We know that they all belong to countries that are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. All have veto power, if there was such a resolution calling for military action.

But White House aides saying that really the focus is how to eliminate, to remove the threat of weapons of mass destruction, in Saddam Hussein's hands.

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ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The purpose of the call was to begin this process of collaboration, to do exactly what the world would expect, and exactly what the world deserves, which is a free exchange of information, a discussion about the consequences and the risks, and this is the beginning of the process.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: Now, Fleischer also said that administration officials would be dispatched to these countries after September 12. That is what White House aides are describing, really, as a defining moment for the president. That is when he is going to go before the U.N. General Assembly in New York. He is going to make his case in front of an international audience, saying that Saddam Hussein is a threat to the world, that he has defied all U.N. agreements, and that the credibility of the United Nations is on the line in terms of how they deal with Iraq's leader. The president will be meeting tomorrow, as a matter of fact, in Camp David with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss the update on Iraq. He is also, on Monday, going to be meeting with the Canadian prime minister, Jean Chretien. They are going to talk about homeland security, border issues, but also Iraq as well. This administration engaged in a full-court press, trying to win the support of its most important allies -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux from the White House -- thanks, Suzanne.

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