Bush Says NATO May Expand Again in 2008, Discusses Iraq
28 November 2006
President visits Estonia en route to Riga Summit in Latvia
Riga, Latvia -- NATO in 2008 plans to invite more countries to join the democratic military alliance, President Bush says.
“By inviting qualifying democracies to join our alliance at the next NATO summit in 2008, we'll continue to build a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace,” Bush said in a joint news conference with Estonia’s President Toomas Ilves in Tallinn, Estonia, November 28 before flying to the Riga Summit in Latvia.
The Riga Summit November 28 has gathered NATO’s 26 heads of state and government in Riga, near the Baltic Sea, for a meeting billed as NATO’s “transformation summit” to adapt the alliance to 21st century challenges.
On November 16, the U.S. Senate passed the NATO Freedom Consolidation Act, urging NATO rapidly to invite Albania, Croatia, Georgia and Macedonia to join the military alliance. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer of the Netherlands has said there will be no formal invitations of membership offered at the Riga Summit. However, he said, the leaders gathered in Riga likely will offer a “positive signal of encouragement” for countries wishing to join the alliance. The next NATO summit tentatively is scheduled for the spring of 2008.
“We have an ambitious agenda” in Riga, Bush said at the November 28 news conference.
“More than 50,000 NATO soldiers are providing security in six missions on three continents,” Bush said. “These deployments have shown that our alliance remains as relevant today as it was during the height of the Cold War. Our alliance defends freedom, and so doing helps make us all more secure.”
A major topic of discussion will be Afghanistan, where 32,000 NATO troops -- including thousands of Americans under NATO international command -- are providing security and stability while the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai establishes control over the country, which has experienced more than 25 years of conflict.
“To succeed in Afghanistan, NATO allies must provide the forces NATO military commanders require,” Bush said. NATO commanders in Afghanistan estimate they have a troop shortfall of 15 percent compared to the number of troops member nations promised to deploy. (See related article.)
“In Riga, we'll discuss how our alliance must build on what we have learned in Afghanistan,” Bush said. “We will continue to transform NATO forces and improve NATO capabilities so that our alliance can complete 21st-century missions successfully. The threat has changed. Our capabilities must change with the threats if NATO is to remain relevant.”
During the news conference, Bush was asked about reports that the United States may seek to engage Iraq’s regional neighbors, particularly Iran and Syria, to help stabilize the region, where more than 140,000 American troops are deployed. (See Iraq Update.)
“The Iraqi government is a sovereign government that is capable of handling its own foreign policies and is in the process of doing so,” Bush said, noting that the Iraqi government is already in communication with its neighbors. “They have made abundantly clear, and I agree with them, that the Iranians and Syrians should help and not destabilize this young democracy.”
Following the Riga Summit, Bush is scheduled to travel to Jordan November 29-30, where he plans to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. (See related article.)
A transcript of President Bush’s joint press conference with President Ilves of Estonia is available on the White House Web site.
For more information, see The United States and NATO.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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