President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with

May 17, 2007,11:23 A.M. EDT,PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you. I'm pleased to welcome Tony Blair back to the White House. He is a good friend. He has led the British people for a long time, since 1797. (Laughter.),You know, I was sitting with Tony on the Truman balcony last night, and we were discussing a lot of issues. And it dawned on me, once again, what a clear strategic thinker he is. Somebody asked me the other day, how would you define Tony Blair and your relationship with him? I said, first of all, it's cordial, it's open, and I appreciate the fact that he can see beyond the horizon. And that's the kind of leadership the world needs., I do congratulate the Prime Minister for being a -- when he gets on a subject, it's dogged. Witness his patience and resolve regarding Northern Ireland. And congratulations for your leadership.,We talked about a lot of issues at dinner and our meetings. We talked about, of course, Iraq. As a matter of fact, the Prime Minister and I have just finished a video conference with our respective commanders and ambassadors from Baghdad. We got a full briefing on the situation on the ground. I appreciated Tony's willingness to interface¹ with our people there. I reminded our people that the best decisions are made when you listen to the commanders. And our commanders have got good, specific advice as to how to achieve our objectives, which I believe we'll achieve; objectives that I know are necessary for peace -- peace in the Middle East, peace in the United States, and in the United Kingdom.,We talked about Afghanistan. We strongly support our NATO mission in Afghanistan, and I informed the Prime Minister that the Secretary General of NATO will be coming to Crawford this weekend. I'm looking forward to talking to him about how we can continue to work together. And I want to thank you for your strong commitment to the NATO mission and the people of Afghanistan.,We talked about the Middle East, and we're concerned about the violence we see in Gaza. We strongly urge the parties to work toward a two-state solution. I'm looking forward to continue to work on this issue. I've instructed my Secretary of State to be actively² engaged. She represents the position of the Bush government, which is two states living side by side in peace. We believe that vision is possible, but it requires strong leadership on both sides of the issue.,The Prime Minister and I discussed the humanitarian³ needs of the Palestinian people. We recognized the deep humiliation⁴ that can come as a result of living in a land where you can't move freely, and where people can't realize dreams. We talked about the need to reject and fight terrorism. We understand the fright that can come when you're worried about a rocket landing on top of your home. I'm committed to peace in the Middle East, and I appreciate Tony Blair being a partner in peace., We talked about Iran. We fully⁵ recognize that the Iranians must not have a nuclear weapon. And therefore it's important to continue to work in the international arena⁶ to speak with one voice. And if we're unable to make progress with the Iranians, we want to work together to implement⁷ new sanctions through the United Nations, to continue to make it clear that Iran with a nuclear weapon is not in the interests of peace in the world.,We talked about, of course, Africa. We spent a lot of time talking about Africa. I told the Prime Minister that the AIDS initiative that got started under my administration will continue; that I'll work with Congress to make sure that the PEPFAR Initiative, that has been so effective at getting anti-retro viral drugs to people on that continent will continue. It's an important initiative of ours.,I applaud the Prime Minister's education initiative on the continent of Africa. It's a bold stroke. And we look forward to working with you on that initiative. We talked about Darfur, and how frustrated⁸ I am, and I know the Prime Minister is frustrated at the inability for the international community to react with consequence in Darfur. And I explained to him my strategy of moving forward with sanctions, and hopefully a new, stronger United Nations resolution if we don't see some improvement in the lives of the people there.,And we talked, of course, about climate change. We spent a lot of time on climate change. And I agree with the Prime Minister, as I have stated publicly, this is a serious issue, and the United States takes it seriously, just like we take energy security seriously.,We talked about the upcoming G8, and I assured the Prime Minister we want to be a part of a solution, that we want to work constructively⁹ together. He's got some really good ideas on how to advance the technologies that are going to be necessary to help solve this problem. And I told him I've got some good ideas as how to convince China and India to be a part of a global solution. We have a lot of common ground that we've been discussing today.,Finally, we agreed to improve defense¹⁰ cooperation by working towards an agreement reducing barriers to trade in defense goods and services and information between the United States and the United Kingdom, including defense industries. This is an important issue for the Prime Minister; it's an important issue to me. I made it clear to the Prime Minister we will work on this issue tirelessly until we can get it solved.,courageous⁵⁷ man." White House photo by Eric Draper" src="/upimg/allimg/20070521/0820262.jpg" width="254" align="right" border="0" /> It's been a joy having you back here. I appreciate -- every time I'm with you I appreciate very much the insight you provide. And I guess, for the final time as Prime Minister, you get to address the good folks in our country from the Rose Garden.,PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Well, thank you very much, Mr. President, and thank you, as ever, for the kindness and graciousness of your welcome to me here at the White House. And thank you also for the strength of your leadership over the past few years. You have been a strong leader at a time when the world needed strong leadership. You've been unyielding and unflinching, and determined¹¹ in the fight that we face together. And I thank you for that.,And I also would take this opportunity of saying that I believe that the relationship between the United States of America and Britain is a relationship that is in the interests of our two countries and in the interests of the peace and stability of the wider world. And sometimes it's a controversial relationship -- at least over in my country. But I've never doubted its importance. I've never doubted that it's based on principle, on shared values, and on a shared purpose, which is to make our world a better, more free, more just place in which people of all nations and all faiths can live.,So I would like to thank you for the strength also of that relationship over these past few years.,The President has, rightly and comprehensively, gone through the various issues that we discussed. And I would like to pick out from those, first of all, the discussion we were able to have with our ambassadors and commanders in respect of Iraq, where there's no doubt at all it's immensely challenging, immensely difficult, but also there is a huge amount that is being done, not just to improve the security there, which is important, but also in respect to the politics where, as they were telling us, there are the majority elements in each of the main communities, whether Sunni, or Shia, or Kurd, who actually want to live in peace with one another, and want a future for that country that is not marred¹² by terrorism and sectarianism. And we, of course, want to see that happen in the interests of that country, and the interests of the stability of the wider region and the world.,Again, in respect of Afghanistan, where American troops, and of course, British troops, down in the Helmand province, are doing an extraordinary job, a heroic job, actually. And I think we can be so proud of the Armed Forces of both countries and what they're doing in the world today., The situation is fraught¹³ with danger, which they take on with immense courage and immense determination. And down in the south of Afghanistan at the moment, there are operations the whole time against the Taliban, in favor of, again, what the Afghan people want, which is the chance to have a better future and escape from the poverty and misery¹⁴ and oppression of the Taliban years.,And we discussed, of course, the Middle East and the very dangerous, difficult situation there, and our belief, again, that the important thing is how we make progress towards the two-state solution, which is the only solution in the end that will offer a realistic prospect¹⁵ and progress in that region.,And of course, also, we talked about the upcoming G8 where there's going to be important negotiations¹⁷ over the issue of climate change and over the issue of Africa. I mean, in respect of climate change, I welcome very much what the President has said today. The important thing is that we see that it's possible for people to come together on an agreement for the future that will allow us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions¹⁸, that will allow us to have a way forward that involves not just Europe and the United States of America, but China and India and the rest of the developing world also, and that also addresses what is an issue of top, top priority now in Europe, but also, I know here, which is energy security.,There are two reasons why this issue is on the agenda in a way that is perhaps more acute than ever before. There is the issue of the environment, there's the issue of energy security. And I think there's a -- there's a synergy between those two issues and the way they come together, which offer some prospect of hope for the future.,And in respect of Africa, as you will know, at the Gleneagles summit a couple of years ago, we made Africa, if you like, the centerpiece of the summit. I think it's important that we recommit to the undertakings¹⁹ we gave there to help people in Africa, and that we do not lose sight of that as a major, in some sense, the major moral course of our time, which is to lift people out of poverty on that troubled continent. And I totally agree with what the President was saying. We have the same position exactly on Darfur and the need to take action there.,And finally, can I thank the President for what he has said on the issue to do with defense and trade between our two countries. This is an issue that seems technical, but actually is a very important way of trumpeting²⁰ the understanding, the work that we're doing together on the issue of defense and technology between our two countries.,And so let me end where I began, which is the importance of the relationship between the United States and Britain. I mean, whether it's in respect of fighting terrorism, the big issues to do with energy and climate change, the cause that is Africa, the agreements between our two countries in respect to defense, our two nations should always work together. It's served us well in the past. But it's not a relationship that's founded on history; it's a relationship that is about a shared future.,Thank you.,PRESIDENT BUSH: So as a parting gift to the Prime Minister, we'll take some questions. (Laughter.),Hunt.,Q Thank you. Mr. Prime Minister, will Britain in the coming months and years be as staunch an ally in Iraq for the United States as it has been under your leadership?,And, Mr. President, will you sign a war spending bill that has consequences for the Iraqi government if it fails to meet benchmarks for progress?,PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: The answer to your question is yes, I believe that we will remain a staunch and steadfast²² ally in the fight against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere.