Excerpts from Bush news conference

Wed Jun 21, 11:14 AM ET

Here are excerpts from President Bush's remarks Wednesday in Vienna at a news conference with Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel and European Union President Jose Manual Barroso, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions.

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We did have a very engaged and fruitful conversation. As we should. We're close partners in peace and prosperity. I've always believed that when America and the E.U. work together we can accomplish big deeds. And this world needs us to work together because there's a lot of challenges.

We talked about democracy and new democracies. And I want to thank the European Union for its strong support of Afghanistan and Iraq.

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On the Mideast:

I fully understand we've had our differences on Iraq. ... People have strong opinions on the subject. But what's past is past, and what's ahead is a hopeful democracy in the Middle East. And I want to thank your leadership - both of your leaderships on this important issue.

I believe the Maliki government's going to succeed. I know the government needs our help.

And the European Union has stood up to help. And I can't thank you enough for that.

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We with talked about Lebanon and the need for Lebanon to be free from Syrian influence. We worked very closely together at the United Nations to send that clear message to the Syrians: Leave Lebanon alone. Let them be. Let them be a free democracy, which is a necessary part of laying the foundation for peace in the Middle East.

We talked about Israel and Palestine. I assured the leaders here that my position is firm, and that is I envision two states living side by side in peace. And we want to help.

On the other hand, we're not going to deal with a government that has made the destruction of Israel one of its key policy platforms. How can you be side by side in peace if part of your platform is the destruction of one of the countries you're supposed to be at peace with?

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On the Balkans:

We talked about the Balkans. And I assured the chancellor that Austria's role in the Balkans and European Union's role is essential. ... In essence, the E.U., particularly under the chancellor's guidance, is in the lead on the Balkans. And we want to help. We want to be a participant in helping bring peace to that region. I think that European Union is a vital part of helping solve the issue of the Balkans. After all, aspirations to the E.U. causes people to adopt the habits necessary for there to be a democracy in peace.

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On trade talks:

We talked about development and prosperity. Listen, we're trading partners. And we got to make sure that commerce and trade and capital continues to flow freely between the E.U. and America. And we talked about some of the impediments to capital flows. ...

Obviously, the Doha round of the WTO was ... a tough subject because we're trying to make difficult adjustments to our own internal policy in order to ... reach an agreement that's fair for all of us. But the good news is that we were very frank in our discussions. I mean, the Europeans have problems with the U.S. position. We have problems with the European position. We both have problems with the G-20 position.

But the point is we're committed to a successful round. ... My view is that we can't let this round fail. A failed WTO round would be missed opportunity, particularly to help people ... who are impoverished. ... The best way to help lift people out of poverty is trade. And we can give all the money you want - and my government has been very generous on account of Africa. We're joining with the Europeans to fight HIV/ AIDS and to deal with hunger.

But if you're really interested in development, the best way to do it is to have a successful round at the WTO.

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On energy:

We got to diversify away from oil. And the best way to do it is through new technologies. And we agreed we would share technologies between our nations and between the E.U. and the United States.

The E.U. needs to get diversified, as well.

And so this is going to be a very interesting period for us as new technologies develop. And we're willing to share those technologies.

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On Guantanamo:

I'd like to end Guantanamo. I'd like it to be over with.

One of the things we will do is we will send people back to their home countries. We've got about 400 people there left: 200 have been sent back; 400 are there, mainly from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen.

And I explained to the two leaders here our desire is to send them back. Of course, there's international pressure not to send them back. But hopefully we'll be able to resolve that when they go back to their own country.

There are some who need to be tried in U.S. courts. They're cold-blooded killers. They will murder somebody if they're let out on the street.

And yet we believe there ought to be a way forward in the court of law. And I'm waiting for the Supreme Court of the United States to determine the proper venue in which these people can be tried.

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On Iran:

It's very important for the leadership in Iran to look at the world and say, Europe and the United States and Russia and China are united in our common desire to make sure that Iranians do not develop a nuclear weapon. And step one of achieving a diplomatic success is to share a goal. And there's no question we share the goal of Iran not having the capacity and/or a nuclear weapon. It would be - it would be a terrible situation if they developed a weapon.

And so the second phase of a diplomatic strategy is to have a common front - a common diplomatic front that says clearly to the Iranians, Here's the way forward for it, but you get to choose.

And so I said to my counterparts here that, We'll come to the table to negotiate, so long as Iranians verifiably end any enrichment activities.

The Iranians have said that they will end uranium-enrichment activities before. That's what they told E.U.-3. We're just asking them to do what they already said they would do.

But it's their choice to make. And I'm convinced that when they look and see that we're working very closely together, that they will see the seriousness of our intent to resolve this in a diplomatic and peaceful way.

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On North Korea:

The North Koreans have made agreements with us in the past, and we expect them to keep their agreements. For example, agreements on test launches: We think it'd be in the world's interest to know what they're testing, what they intend to do on their test. It should make people nervous when non-transparent regimes that have announced that they've got nuclear warheads fire missiles.

And so we've been working with our partners, particularly in that part of the world, to say to the North Koreans that, This is not the way you conduct business in the world. This is not the way that peaceful nations conduct their affairs.

I was pleased to see that the Chinese spoke out to the North Korean government and suggested they not fire whatever it is on their missile. And we'll see whether or not the North Koreans listen.

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Responding to a reporter's question about whether U.S. is threat to global stability:

That's absurd. ...we'll defend ourselves, but at the same times we're actively working with our partners to spread peace and democracy. So whoever says that is - it's just - that's an absurd statement.

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Responding to question on Iran:

Our position, is that we'll come to the table when they verifiably suspend - period. And we expect them to verifiably suspend. This is what they said they would do to the E.U.-3. Secondly, the August 22nd date ... it shouldn't take the Iranians that long to analyze what is a reasonable deal.

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On Iraq and polls:

People didn't agree with my decision on Iraq. And I understand that. For Europe, September the 11th was a moment; for us it was a change of thinking. I vowed to the American people I would do everything I could to defend our people, and will. I fully understood that the longer we got away from September the 11th, more people would forget the lessons of September the 11th. But I'm not going to forget them.

And therefore, I will be steadfast and diligent and strong in defending our country.

I don't govern by polls, you know. I just do what I think is right.

And I understand some of the decisions I've made are controversial. But I made them in the best interest of our country and, I think, in the best interests of the world.

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On Darfur:

I'll try to do my best to explain to the Europeans that, on the one hand, we're tough when it comes to the terror. On the other hand, we're providing more money than ever before in the world's history for HIV/AIDS on the continent of Africa. ... I declared Darfur to be a genocide because I care deeply about those who have been afflicted by these renegade bands of people who are raping and murdering.

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On his foreign policy:

I will do my best to explain our foreign policy. On the one hand, it's tough when it needs to be. On the other hand, it's compassionate.

... You know, people say what they want to say. But leadership requires making hard choices based upon principle and standing by the decisions you make. And that's how I'm going to continue to lead my country.

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