[excerpt]
US White House
Office of the Press Secretary
March 31, 2008
Press Gaggle by Dana Perino and National Security Advisor Steve Hadley
Aboard Air Force One
En route Kiyv, Ukraine
Q Do you expect President Putin and President Bush -- when you say they've come to a sound footing, do you think that they're going to resolve their differences on missile defense?
MR. HADLEY: We may. We're hopeful. We're not going to resolve all our differences. You know, this is a complicated relationship. There are areas where we disagree [sic]* [agree], where we are trying to enhance cooperation. There are areas where we disagree and we're trying to manage those disagreements. And that's the framework in which we're moving forward.
Q But missile defense is some place you think you're going to be able to put a checkmark?
MR. HADLEY: We have talked a lot about it. As you know, the President talked to President Putin about it personally, addressed it in a letter he sent to President Putin. It was a subject of Secretary Rice and Secretary Gates' meeting at the two-plus-two here a week ago. A Russian delegation was here this week, spent a good three days working these issues, including missile defense.
And I think we're moving in a direction where something that some of us have been working for, for a long time, where Russia and the United States could have missile defense as an area of strategic cooperation. Interestingly, that was something that President Putin said when he talked to the press at Kennebunkport last summer. And we are trying to see if we can articulate that in concrete terms.
So it's not done yet. We think we're making progress. We're going to continue to work it.
Q When we asked whether an agreement could be reached, you said, "we may," "we're hopeful" on missile defense. Do you think that would -- would that be at the NATO summit, or would that be later at Sochi?
MR. HADLEY: I think there are two things going on here. One is NATO identifying missile defense as an area where NATO needs to do more, recognizing that it is a threat, recognizing that what we are doing with the Poles and the Czechs is a contribution to meeting that threat; and recognizing that we need to find ways to do more. How to do that to be determined in the future.
So one element is NATO recognizing that this is an area where NATO has to enhance its capabilities. And secondly, working with Russia, so this is something that might be done between Europe, the United States and Russia cooperatively against missile threats coming from the Middle East that potentially threaten all of us.
Q But as far as a location, a venue at which a deal might be reached, Bucharest or Sochi is more likely?
MR. HADLEY: A notion of what NATO needs to do together coming out of Bucharest. An issue about how Russia might fit and cooperate and be a part of those efforts, that probably is for Sochi or later -- it may not get done by Sochi. There's no deadline here. Sochi is for an opportunity for these two leaders to get together again. It is an opportunity to reach an agreement on missile defense. But, hey, if we don't have it by Sochi, we'll keep working it. There's no deadline here.
Q Russia as opposed to Georgia, is that your sense of the MAP process? Are you optimistic at all about Georgia's invitation into that?
MR. HADLEY: We think it's very, very, very important that Georgia and Ukraine, that we welcome their aspirations to be part of NATO, that we have an active engagement in helping them move in that direction. And the President has made clear we think the best way to do that is to offer the MAP at Bucharest, and that's what the President is pushing hard for.
Q But the Russians have opposed --
MR. HADLEY: And he's looking forward to a good discussion with his colleagues at Bucharest on this issue, very important issue.
Q What are you expecting in terms of missile defense and what you can accomplish before the end of the President's term? I mean, having all of the system in place? What is the --
MR. HADLEY: No, no, no. What we're really talking about is a framework of cooperation going forward. But, you know, developing this capabilities is something we're going to do over a period of years. No, it's really trying to establish some basic understandings and a framework of cooperation, that's what we're trying to do....
Q Can you tell a little bit more about the letter that President Bush wrote to Mr. Putin, the tone of it, what he was trying to accomplish with that?
MR. HADLEY: Look, these guys know each other very well. And they've had a lot of good conversations, they've had a lot of tough conversations over the year. And it was a letter as you'd expect: very candid, very straightforward, very respectful, but very clear; and an effort to suggest areas where the two countries could work together. They had a very good phone call about it, it's been a very good process.
The other thing I want to say is that the consultation process on all these issues I've talked about going into the Bucharest summit has really been a -- again, a very good one. Obviously you've written on issues on MAP and other issues that we've not yet reached consensus -- that's true, there have been good conversations back and forth.
But to give you an example, the President every two weeks now, roughly every two weeks is on a secure video teleconference with Angela Merkel talking about the issues of the day. We've been doing this for at least a year.
So these two leaders -- you know, this is one of the marvels of modern technology and the impact it has on diplomacy. These two leaders know each other very well. In the old days they would get together, you know, once a quarter, twice, three times a year. Now these two leaders can talk for 45 minutes every couple weeks. They know each other very well. They know each other's views well. They have a very constructive working relationship. And it's great because you can put difficult issues on the table, you can have your exchange of views, try to find common ground. It's a very productive process. And I would say to you that the secure video is a terrific tool for strengthening the ties between leaders, and those two leaders have very strong relationships and it's a good thing for Germany and the United States, and it's a good thing for NATO.
Q Thank you very much.