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HEILIGENDAMM, Germany, June 6 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following text is of remarks by President Bush in roundtable with travel pool:

Kempinski Grand Hotel

Heiligendamm, Germany

11:45 A.M. (Local)

[Continued from part 1 of 2]

THE PRESIDENT:  I think what -- one reason why I promote rule of law throughout the world is to make sure that that very scenario doesn't accelerate.  A second initiative that we all have got to take is to diversify away from hydrocarbons, and that's what will eventually yield to national security and economic security for countries that are dependent upon hydrocarbons from other places, such as ourself.

You know, there is -- there are mechanisms in place to basically enable nations to protect themselves.  The EU is a mechanism.  If you noticed, there's constant jockeying here in Europe with Russia about security.  No question, some nations are concerned about their supplies of gas being used for political purposes.  And therefore, all of us need to work collaboratively to convince nations not to do that, whether it be Russia or any other nation that is supplying hydrocarbons to the world.

You've heard me say, we import oil from places that don't necessarily like us.  Oil is fungible, by the way.  But nevertheless, we do.  And therefore, it is in our interest, just like it's in the interest of other countries, to diversify.  And that's really going to be the interesting challenge here as we move forward in this 21st century.  One of the dividends of diversification through new technologies is better environmental quality.  And that's why this issue is -- it's got a real poignancy, as far as I'm concerned.  One, I know we can be better stewards of the environment.  But also, at the same time, it ends up making us less dependent on crude oil from overseas, in our case.

It's coming, and the question is, how do you stimulate new technologies?  What is the most effective way to get technologies to the market that will enable the world to control greenhouse gases, for example?  And that's really where the -- see, once you get people to agree to a goal, then the next question that needs to be answered is, how best to achieve that goal.  We've taken the lead in achieving that goal by spending billions of dollars on new technologies.

We've got new technologies being advanced in cellulosic ethanol.  That will help nations once that becomes able to compete in the market.  There's new battery technologies being promoted, primarily out of Japan.  But nevertheless, it's -- will have the beneficial effect of enabling people to drive without the use of gasoline.  Clean coal technologies are going to be a really important part of a strategy to deal with what will be an international goal. 

And so the question is how best to stimulate that type of investment.  And that's an important discussion to have here at the G8.  It's also an important discussion to have at home.

Q    Iran.  President Ahmadinejad says that Iran's nuclear program cannot be stopped.  Is he right?

THE PRESIDENT:  Therefore, let's build a missile defense system.  And, yes, we're going to work to stop him.  That's why we are constantly working through diplomatic channels to continue to apply pressure.  And I mentioned the other day, I think we need to go back to the U.N. Security Council.  And we'll see.

Q    You mentioned South Korea earlier.  Do you think South Korea could be a model for Iraq?

THE PRESIDENT:  I think that -- first of all, the situation inside South Korea is different -- or was different than it is in Iraq.  On the other hand, U.S. presence enabled the South Korean economy and system to evolve, and at the same time, provided assurances to the Chinese and the Japanese.

And you hear me say that -- and compare the situation in the Middle East to what happened in the Far East.  It's not to say that the cultures were the same, or the difficulties in the different countries are the same.  It is to say, however, that the U.S. can provide a presence in order to give people confidence necessary to make decisions that will enable democracies to emerge, and say to other people, step back and let the democracies emerge. 

It's very interesting to note that the U.S. presence in the Far East was welcomed by different countries with different interests.  But it helped achieve an objective for all of us, and today, the Far East is peaceful.  And it wasn't peaceful at the end of the Korean War.  It was a place where thousands of Americans had lost lives. 

And so the comparison between Korea and the Middle East is, again, not to say that the religious situation was the same -- of course, it was different -- nor to say that some of the influential players were the same -- it's different.  But it is to say that given time, these democracies will emerge.

Q    What do you think of the new French President?

THE PRESIDENT:  I haven't met him yet -- I have met him, excuse me, but not as President.

END 12:27 P.M. (LOCAL)