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American Morning
Meeting Continues Between Bush and Putin
Aired November 22, 2002 - 09:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We have John King up in St. Petersburg where that meeting continues between President Bush and Vladimir Putin. Let's get to John to what is topic a today inside on that agenda.
John, hello.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Bill.
Our apologies for the technical gremlins. This is the city where Vladimir Putin was once the deputy mayor, St. Petersburg. President Bush calls the Russian president his good friend, Vladimir. The president's most urgent mission today, convince the Russian president that this new expansion of the NATO alliance right up to Russia's borders is not at all a threat to Mr. Putin or to the Russian people.
Mr. Bush, we are told, will assure Mr. Putin of that in this meeting. And the NATO alliance is also being asked by Russia not to do anything that would provoke the nationalist and the communists sentiment in this country by conducting any major military exercises or major positioning of troops in the three of the seven new countries that closely border Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Mr. Bush will deliver those assurances in the meetings today. The two leaders obviously will also discuss the ongoing situation in Iraq.
Mr. Bush saying in a Russian television interview before he came on this trip that he understands Russia has longstanding ties to Iraq, also has debts owed to it by Iraq, and has interest in developing the oil fields in Iraq.
Mr. Bush said all of those considerations would be taken into account if there is a military confrontation down the line. The president, obviously, trying to build international pressure on Saddam, to cooperate with the weapons inspections, but also trying to get his allies around the world, and President Putin is key on this point, to say if there are any violations, that there could be a military confrontation. We will look more from the two leaders when we hear from them after their discussions in St. Petersburg here today -- Bill.
HEMMER: John, quickly, what are you picking up on the personal relationship between these two men? So often, we are told that this relationship continues to bloom and blossom. Is that still the case given the events of the meetings today?
KING: U.S. officials certainly say so. This is a meeting that was supposed to take place in late October when Mr. Bush was at that Asian Pacific summit in Mexico. President Putin was supposed to come. Remember that was the time of that hostage standoff at the theater in Moscow.
Some criticize President Putin for using that deadly gas. More than 100 of the hostages killed. President Bush stood by his friend, President Putin, said the terrorists were to blame, not President Putin for that response. These two men are described in both camps, both in Russia and in Washington, as close friends and close allies in the war on terrorism.
President Bush very quick to stand by President Putin at a time where he was facing some criticism from elsewhere around the world.
HEMMER: Thank you, John, John King, senior White House correspondent in St. Petersburg.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 22, 2002 - 09:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We have John King up in St. Petersburg where that meeting continues between President Bush and Vladimir Putin. Let's get to John to what is topic a today inside on that agenda.
John, hello.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Bill.
Our apologies for the technical gremlins. This is the city where Vladimir Putin was once the deputy mayor, St. Petersburg. President Bush calls the Russian president his good friend, Vladimir. The president's most urgent mission today, convince the Russian president that this new expansion of the NATO alliance right up to Russia's borders is not at all a threat to Mr. Putin or to the Russian people.
Mr. Bush, we are told, will assure Mr. Putin of that in this meeting. And the NATO alliance is also being asked by Russia not to do anything that would provoke the nationalist and the communists sentiment in this country by conducting any major military exercises or major positioning of troops in the three of the seven new countries that closely border Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Mr. Bush will deliver those assurances in the meetings today. The two leaders obviously will also discuss the ongoing situation in Iraq.
Mr. Bush saying in a Russian television interview before he came on this trip that he understands Russia has longstanding ties to Iraq, also has debts owed to it by Iraq, and has interest in developing the oil fields in Iraq.
Mr. Bush said all of those considerations would be taken into account if there is a military confrontation down the line. The president, obviously, trying to build international pressure on Saddam, to cooperate with the weapons inspections, but also trying to get his allies around the world, and President Putin is key on this point, to say if there are any violations, that there could be a military confrontation. We will look more from the two leaders when we hear from them after their discussions in St. Petersburg here today -- Bill.
HEMMER: John, quickly, what are you picking up on the personal relationship between these two men? So often, we are told that this relationship continues to bloom and blossom. Is that still the case given the events of the meetings today?
KING: U.S. officials certainly say so. This is a meeting that was supposed to take place in late October when Mr. Bush was at that Asian Pacific summit in Mexico. President Putin was supposed to come. Remember that was the time of that hostage standoff at the theater in Moscow.
Some criticize President Putin for using that deadly gas. More than 100 of the hostages killed. President Bush stood by his friend, President Putin, said the terrorists were to blame, not President Putin for that response. These two men are described in both camps, both in Russia and in Washington, as close friends and close allies in the war on terrorism.
President Bush very quick to stand by President Putin at a time where he was facing some criticism from elsewhere around the world.
HEMMER: Thank you, John, John King, senior White House correspondent in St. Petersburg.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
