U.S. National Security Advisor Steven Hadley Comments on President Bush’s Telephone Conversation with President-elect Saakashvili
On January 14, U.S. National Security Advisor Steven Hadley talked to the press aboard AirForce One en route Saudi Arabia:
[excerpt]
MR. HADLEY: Hello, everybody. The President, just as we took off, called President-elect Saakashvili of Georgia, congratulated him on his electoral victory. Saakashvili was appreciative of the President's call. He indicated that he had reached out to the opposition and was going to try and build a consensus during his -- what will be, obviously, his last term as President. It was a good call and obviously, at some point after his inauguration he will obviously come to Washington as the new President of Georgia.
Shall I talk a little bit about today?
MS. PERINO: Yes, please. I think you should give a little bit of flavor --
QUESTION: Can I ask one quick follow-up on Georgia? Did the President raise any of
the -- any concerns about the initial way the election was run in Georgia, any question about whether it was a fully democratic election?
MR. HADLEY: The President didn't. There have been a number of groups that have opined
on that subject, and it's pretty clear that he won more than 50 percent, and therefore, avoided a second round. And that's really the judgment that's been reached by Georgian authorities and international authorities. So what he heard, what I think was very encouraging, was Saakashvili's indication that he was going to reach out to the opposition and try and build a national consensus going forward in his rule. So this is a good thing. This is -- the Georgian people have spoken and they have a new President and will move forward on that basis.
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