POLAND: U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH MEETS POLISH PRESIDENT ALEKSANDER KWASNIEWSKI.

Record ID: 850965

  • Title: POLAND: U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH MEETS POLISH PRESIDENT ALEKSANDER KWASNIEWSKI.
  • Date: 16th June 2001
  • Summary: WARSAW, POLAND (JUNE 15, 2001) (REUTERS) GV/MCU: DEMONSTRATORS IN BLUE CAPS DEMANDING NATO MEMBERSHIP FOR LITHUANIA (2 SHOTS) MV: LEFTIST DEMONSTRATORS PROTESTING AGAINST BUSH VISIT IN RED CHE GUEVARA T-SHIRTS MV/GV/PAN/MV: PROTESTER HITTING A PASSING CAR AND BEING ARRESTED (3 SHOTS) MV/TILT: PRO BUSH BANNER BEING BURNED BY LEFTISTS VARIOUS: PROTESTERS (7 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 1st July 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WARSAW, POLAND
  • City:
  • Country: Poland
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA5U6UA1MZ871HZT8RETI0QOLTB
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: U.S. President George W. Bush has arrived in Poland for the fourth stop of a five-day European tour to call on the West to embrace the former Soviet satellite states of eastern Europe.
    After touching down in Warsaw on the fourth stop of his five-country European tour, Bush was whisked off in a motorcade to Warsaw's presidential palace to be welcomed with full military honours by President Aleksander Kwasniewski, a former communist turned highly popular social democrat.
    Bush is on his first official trip to Europe. He has drawn mixed reactions to his appeals for support for an anti-missile defence system hotly rejected by Moscow and been criticised for opposing the Kyoto treaty, which aims to combat global warming.
    His visit to Poland, a day before his first ever meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Slovenia, includes a celebration of the collapse of communism a decade ago when his father, George Bush, was president, and he will reaffirm his commitment to creating a Europe "whole and free."
    But speaking at a joint press conference with the Polish President, Bush said he was concerned about reports of weapons proliferation along Russia's southern border and would raise the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting on Saturday.
    "I am concerned about some reports of proliferation of weapons" along Russia's southern border, Bush told reporters.
    "And I'll bring it up," he added.
    The U.S. president made no comment on a Washington Post report on Friday saying that United States believes Iran obtained material that could be used to make nuclear weapons through a Russian metals trader earlier this year.
    But he said he would bring up the issue of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction when he briefs Putin on U.S.
    plans to develop an anti-missile defence shield.
    In the major speech of his five-day tour delivered at Warsaw University library, Bush sketched out his vision of Europe and calling for European unity and an extension of NATO deeper into eastern Europe, said it was time to "put talk of East and West behind us".
    He said European integration should include the countries of southern Europe and Ukraine and said he would put it to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in Slovenia that "Russia is part of Europe".
    In his speech at the Warsaw University library Bush stressed that Russia had nothing to fear from expansion of the Atlantic alliance.
    Russia, which fears an encroachment of the Atlantic alliance onto former Soviet soil. Russia opposes membership for the former Soviet Baltic states.
    In contrast with running battles between police and anti- U.S. demonstrators at Bush's summit with European Union leaders in Gothenburg on Thursday, there were only minor pockets of protesters in Warsaw.
    Around 100 anti-globalisation and environmentalist protesters gathered outside the University Library before Bush gave his speech later. They were moved across the street by police but there was only minor pushing and shoving.
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