WASHINGTON - On the eve of leaving office, US President George W. Bush spoke Monday to allies, friends, and rivals on the world stage, telling them he enjoyed working with them, a White House spokesman said.
Bush, who leaves the keys to White House to Barack Obama on Tuesday, spoke to leaders of Brazil, Britain, Denmark, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, and South Korea, as well as former Mexican president Vicente Fox, said Gordon Johndroe.
Bush "expressed his gratitude for the kind hospitality all these leaders showed him and Mrs Bush over the years and told them how much he enjoyed working with them during his two terms," said spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
The US leader spoke to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Fox, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, Johndroe said.
Later, Bush spoke to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, he said.
"In all the calls, the leaders thanked President Bush for his work and for the spirit of cooperation and friendship developed in the last eight years," said the spokesman.
Johndroe said Bush, who hands successor Barack Obama the keys to the White House on Tuesday, was to speak to more world leaders throughout the day.