The Presidents of Romania and the USA gave press statements, following the bilateral meeting
The President of the USA, George W. Bush: Mr. President, thank you very much for your warm hospitality. Laura and I are happy to be here together, and to also meet your very pleasant wife. I also believe it was the ideal spot to meet, in such a beautiful place. It is very kind of you to have invited us here with you. Actually, that’s what friendship is all about; and our relationship is very strong, and of a very friendly nature. I admire your courage and your leadership abilities. I would like to thank you for hosting us here, for hosting NATO in Bucharest. This is an important issue.
It is interesting that no longer than 20 years ago our nations were separated by the Cold War, as Romania was a member of the Warsaw Pact and Romanians suffered under a very cruel dictatorship. I believe that today things have changed a lot. Romanians are free, and we are powerful allies. We appreciate the fact that you are part of NATO and I thank you for your contribution to NATO.
I would like to thank you and the Romanians for your contribution to Afghanistan. You have 600 militaries there; the Afghans are very happy, just as we are, with your presence there.
I would also like to thank you for your troops contribution to Iraqi. These are tough decisions to be taken. But they are also necessary decisions for maintaining peace. I have already discussed our wish to tightly cooperate with these countries, in order to encourage their successes, for their own sake, but also for the sake of peace.
I very much appreciate our discussions earlier in the day regarding NATO’s extension. Romania and the USA agreed that the NATO Alliance should continue to be open to new allies, who want to implement reforms, countries that together want to solve our security issues. In this framework of thought, I believe that Croatia, Albania and Macedonia should become full members with all due right, of NATO, and that we should grant the MAP to Ukraine and Georgia; I am also in favour of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro’s requests for intensified dialogue as part of the NATO Alliance. And I believe that we ought to open the door also for a tighter collaboration with Serbia. Thank you very much for the advices you gave me regarding these topics.
I also appreciate your leadership qualities in the Black Sea area. And I also believe that’s part of the reason why you invited me here today – because I would speak of your leadership qualities in the Black Sea area. We share your concerns regarding security, and understand your wish to enhance the role played by this area together with the financial support for the Black Sea, in order to strengthen the democracies in the area, the democratic government in the neighboring countries.
Thank you very much also for sharing your opinion on economic markets, meaning that economic markets grow when we encourage entrepreneurs and the business sector, and consequently Romanian economy is turning into a powerful one.
I would like to congratulate you for your economic growth and for your vision. I am very happy to be here and I want to thank you and Mrs. Basescu once again for your hospitality. We had a delicious lunch and if the Romanian journalists haven’t tasted Romanian ice-cream yet, I advice them to do so. Thank you very much.
The President of Romania, Traian Basescu: First of all, Mr President, I would like to thank you for following our invitation of a few hours visit on the land where I was born, Dobrogea, at the Black Sea shore.
As we were discussing in Washington in 2005 and 2006, our partnership has gone far beyond the stage of a simple military partnership, that should have first of all targeted Romania’s security.
We are now in the stage of a partnership with a sound economic component as well. After 2005, Oracle has come to Romania, Smithfield has come to Romania with big investments in the food industry, and recently even Ford came to Romania. Which means that the Romanian-American partnership practically covers all areas and we hope to continue to develop it in all respects.
I would like to thank you for the attention your administration gives to the Black Sea region. I would like to thank you for your concern regarding the security of the Black Sea area and for your concern to guaranty democracy in the Black Sea region.
Also, Mr. President, I would like to underline that we appreciate the trust granted by the USA to the Romanian army, by placing important troops from Afghanistan under Romanian command. You thus gave us a sign of trust, and we also know that it is rarely that the USA places its troops under another command than that of USA officers. Thank you very much.
To conclude, I would like to underline the similarity of approach regarding the region where Romania lies, either if we speak of the Balkans, or if we speak of Ukraine, or Georgia, our approaches target first of all Romania’s security, as well as the security of the area. We are happy that although the USA lies far from this area, you have understood our concerns, our priorities, and the priorities of the region as a whole.
Thank you, Mr. President, for eagerly acting on the issues we agreed upon. I would also like to re-assure you that Romania will remain a country complying with all its agreements, may they be connected to the relationship with NATO, or to the relationship with the European Union, or those connected to the partnership and our bilateral relationship. Thank you very much.
(Source: Rador)
