Bush Phones Freed Leader, Invites Him to White House
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WASHINGTON — President Bush telephoned Nelson R. Mandela from the White House on Sunday, told him all Americans “were rejoicing at his release” after 27 years in South Africa’s prisons and personally invited him to the White House.
“He told me that he wanted to consult some of his colleagues, but that he expected he would be able to accept my invitation,” the President told reporters in the Rose Garden late Sunday afternoon.
“It was a very friendly conversation,” Bush said. “It lasted five or six minutes, maybe, and he expressed his gratitude to me and to the American people for calling.”
On Saturday, Bush called South African President Frederik W. de Klerk and invited him to pay a separate visit to Washington.
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