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Ilves and Bush discussed the altered security situation in the world after the Russian-Georgian war

15.08.2008

In a telephone conversation today with U.S. President George W. Bush, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves discussed Russia´s military aggression against Georgia and its impact on international relations and security.

The Estonian Head of State gave Bush a brief overview of the visit of the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and Ukrainian leaders to Tbilisi this week. With our presence, we wished to demonstrate our support for the democratic government of Georgia, President Ilves said.

Both Heads of State believe it is important to continue to support the territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders.

Both Ilves and Bush also declared that Russia must withdraw its troops from Georgian territory. It is essential to create a corridor for the delivery of humanitarian aid, in order to assist the people who have been injured in the war, President Ilves noted.

According to the Estonian Head of State, Russia´s aggression against its neighbor Georgia has fundamentally changed the future of international security.

The primary assumption of all the agreements for the last 17 years has been that Russia shares the same values with the rest of the democratic world and that Russia will not invade its neighbors, President Ilves said. However we now see a change in this paradigm. This assumes a total reorientation of current security policies. It's a new world.

President Ilves also spoke today with Latvian President Valdis Zatlers, with whom he exchanged information about the situation that has developed in Georgia and the altered international security environment.

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