MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures now, East Room of the White House, president of the United States addressing a crowd there. Among them, seven foreign ministers from central Europe who will soon be invited to join NATO at the November summit. Let's listen.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have won their liberty and earned their place among free nations. America has always considered them friends, and we will always be proud to call them allies. I appreciate the foreign ministers of the NATO nations -- or the nations who will soon be joining NATO -- who are with us today. We just had a great discussion in the Roosevelt Room in the White House complex. I appreciate so very much the secretary of state, Colin Powell, who has been a strong and tireless advocate for the expansion of NATO.</s>O'BRIEN: On this, the 58th anniversary of V-E Day, Victory in Europe Day in World War II, the president applauds seven new members of NATO who are ratified by the senate in a unanimous vote earlier today for entrance into that organization. Truly a little peace of history. All of these countries, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, all under the firm grasp of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. And now, members of NATO. Who would have thunk it a few years ago? President Bush in the East Room. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Bush Congratulates Incoming Members of NATO