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Itinerary
1. The President and Mrs. Bush departed Washington on Tuesday morning and arrived in Prague that evening. On Wednesday, the President held five bilateral meetings with Czech President Havel, Czech Prime Minister Spidla, with President Sezer of Turkey, President Chirac of France, and NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson. At each of the meetings the President discussed NATO issues, Iraq, the war on terrorism, and bilateral matters.
Later that afternoon, the President delivered remarks at the Prague Atlantic Students Summit, where he discussed his vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace.
On Thursday, the President attended several working sessions of the NATO summit, announced the countries to be invited into NATO.
2. On Friday, the President traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he met with President Putin. The two Presidents discussed a host of issues, including Russia's emerging relationship with NATO.
3. President Bush left Russia for Vilnius, Lithuania on Friday evening. And on Saturday, the President held a bilateral meeting with the President of Lithuania, as well as a joint meeting with the Presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
4. The President then traveled to Bucharest, Romania, where he met with Romanian President Iliescu, and made remarks to the Romanian people at a square in central Bucharest. President and Mrs. Bush returned to Washington on Saturday evening.
Agenda
There were three major items on the agenda at the NATO summit in Prague.
First, NATO, for the second time since the end of the Cold War, welcomed new members. This was an historic event for Europe and for the Transatlantic Alliance, as Europe continues to move closer to realizing the vision of a continent that is whole, free, and at peace. President Bush has long maintained America's commitment to a strong NATO alliance and to a robust expansion of NATO, a point that he made dramatically in his speech at Warsaw when he said that the Alliance should do as much as possible, not as little. And I think you saw at the NATO summit that that charge has been taken up.
Second, NATO members worked to advance the task of transforming NATO. The end of the Cold War has meant the end of the Cold War threat of massive armies contending for the Central European plains. And all NATO members today face common threats from terrorists and the states that sponsor them. These threats require a different kind of military force to defend against, a force that is lighter, more agile, and more flexible. NATO members are working to transform their forces to meet new threats and to increase the ability of our forces to work together.
Third, we made further progress in building a new relationship with Russia. This summit and this round of expansion was further evidence of America's and Europe's new strategic relationship with Russia, which is formalized in agreements such as the Moscow Treaty and the NATO-Russia Council. An alliance founded to wage the Cold War once again showed how far it has come since that task was completed.
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Prague, the capital of The Czech Republic will be President Bush's first stop. He will meet with President Havel, attend the NATO Summit and address the Prague Atlantic Students Summit. |
During his second visit to St. Petersburg, Russia, President Bush will meet with President Putin. |
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During his trip to Europe, President Bush will visit Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. |
During his trip to Europe, President Bush will travel to Bucharest, Romania, to meet Romanian President Iliescu and address the Romanian people. |
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