Bush says new Europe must include Ukraine (06/24/01)

Bush says new Europe must include Ukraine

WARSAW - During his first official visit to Europe, President George W. Bush called on June 15 for an end to talk of East and West, and for an "open Europe" without "false lines." He also underlined during a major speech in the capital of Poland that "The Europe we are building must include Ukraine."

A press release from the U.S. Department of States reported that addressing faculty and students at Warsaw University, President Bush urged that all of Europe's new democracies, "from the Baltic to the Black Sea and all that lie between, should have the same chance for security and freedom - and the same chance to join the institutions of Europe - as Europe's old democracies have."

"I believe in NATO membership for all of Europe's democracies that seek it and are ready to share the responsibilities that NATO brings," he continued. "The question of 'when' may still be up for debate within NATO; the question of 'whether' should not be. As we plan to enlarge NATO, no nation should be used as a pawn in the agendas of others. We will not trade away the fate of free European peoples."

When NATO leaders gather for the Prague Summit in 2002, Mr. Bush said, "The United States will be prepared to make concrete, historic decisions with its allies to advance NATO enlargement."

The promise of NATO enlargement "now leads eastward and southward, northward and onward," he said. "I want to thank Poland for acting as a bridge to the new democracies of Europe, and a champion of the interests and security of your neighbors, such as the Baltic states, Ukraine, Slovakia. You are making real the words: 'For your freedom and ours.' "

"The Europe we are building must include Ukraine, a nation struggling with the trauma of transition. Some in Kyiv speak of their country's European destiny. If this is their aspiration, we should reward it. We must extend our hand to Ukraine, as Poland has already done with such determination," President Bush noted.

Calling for a Europe that is "open" to Russia, Mr. Bush said that in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Slovenia June 16, he would stress that "Russia is part of Europe and, therefore, does not need a buffer zone of insecure states separating it from Europe. NATO, even as it grows, is no enemy of Russia. Poland is no enemy of Russia. America is no enemy of Russia."

President Bush said he would also reiterate to the Russian president his belief that "the basis for our mutual security must move beyond Cold War doctrines," and that "we must have a broad strategy of active non-proliferation; counter-proliferation; and a new concept of deterrence that includes defenses sufficient to protect our people, our forces, and our allies; as well as reduced reliance on nuclear weapons."

"And, finally, I'll make clear to President Putin that the path to greater prosperity and greater security lies in greater freedom," Mr. Bush said.

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