[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 83 (Monday, June 27, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 27, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
  REMARKS BY SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER: RUSSIA JOINS PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 27, 1994

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, on June 22, 1994 Russian Foreign Minister 
Kozyrev signed the Partnership for Peace Framework Document at the 
North Atlantic Council meeting in Brussels.
  I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues Secretary 
Christopher's remarks on that historic and important occasion. The text 
of his remarks follows:

               Remarks Before the North Atlantic Council


          nato headquarters, brussels, belgium--june 22, 1994

               (By Secretary of State Warren Christopher)

       Mr. Deputy Secretary General, it is a great pleasure to 
     join our NATO colleagues and Foreign Minister Kozyrev to mark 
     this historic occasion, and to welcome Russia as the newest 
     member of the Partnership For Peace.
       Our meeting today is a powerful expression of Europe's 
     remarkable transformation. Who could have imagined even a few 
     short years ago that after forty years of bitter 
     confrontation across the Iron Curtain, a newly democratic 
     Russia and this alliance would join in a partnership of 
     cooperation. Within our grasp lies the historic opportunity 
     to build an undivided peaceful and democratic Europe. That is 
     the dream that has animated this alliance and my country for 
     more than four decades. That is the vision that President 
     Clinton set forth when he proposed the Partnership For Peace. 
     And that is the goal that the United States remains fully 
     committed to achieving.
       Today, as Russia joins the partnership, we take a major 
     step toward building the bonds of cooperation that can secure 
     the peace of a broader Europe. As an alliance, we are 
     reaching out to Russia's Government and its military to 
     establish a new, more constructive relationship. But no less 
     important--as the alliance has done with other European 
     neighbors--we are extending a hand of friendship to the 
     Russian people.
       Russia is and will remain a country of immense importance 
     to the rest of Europe and the world. Its efforts to build 
     democratic institutions and a market economy have profound 
     implications for European security. A broad and 
     constructive NATO-Russia relationship will serve the 
     interests of this alliance. It will serve Russia's 
     interests. And it will serve the interests of all the 
     nations of Europe--particularly those that so recently won 
     their freedom from Communist rule.
       The partnership for peace is central to NATO's relationship 
     with Russia. We also look forward to constructive dialogue 
     and cooperation to supplement the partnership in areas where 
     Russia has unique and important contributions to make. At the 
     same time, President Clinton will continue to work closely 
     with President Yeltsin to build a strong and cooperative 
     United States-Russian bilateral relationship in the interests 
     of both our peoples and the world.
       Other European states may also have interests or 
     capabilities that would warrant ``sixteen plus one'' 
     consultations outside the partnership. We should welcome 
     these possibilities. As NATO promotes security and stability 
     in Central and Eastern Europe, that too will benefit all 
     European Nations--including Russia.
       Russia's accession to the partnership for peace is 
     reflection of the policy of extending to the East the 
     institutions that have allowed the West to achieve 
     unparalleled security and prosperity. Two weeks ago in Paris, 
     Russia signed a cooperation agreement with the OECD. In two 
     days in Corfu, President Yeltsin will sign an agreement with 
     the EU that will open European markets to many Russian 
     products. And next month in Naples, the G-7 will welcome 
     President Yeltsin for broad political consultations.
       By widening the reach of the great post-war security and 
     economic institutions, we can help ensure that war, poverty 
     and oppression never again engulf this continent. We are 
     committed to working for an integrated Europe where sovereign 
     and independent States need not fear their neighbors.
       Today we are taking another decisive step toward banishing 
     Europe's historic divisions. We are building a security 
     partnership that has the potential to encompass all the 
     nations of the continent. With Russia's action, 21 countries 
     have now joined the Partnership for Peace, several have 
     already entered close consultations with NATO to develop 
     individual partnership programs, tailored to their unique 
     capabilities and interests. By this fall, joint exercises 
     will commence, with Poland hosting the first exercise on the 
     soil of a partner country. In this way, the partnership will 
     build the habits of cooperation that are the lifeblood of the 
     alliance. It can thus pave the way for NATO's eventual 
     expansion.
       We cannot build the Europe we seek without a strong NATO 
     alliance. We cannot build it without a democratic Russia. We 
     cannot build it without the nations of Central and Eastern 
     Europe. The ``best possible future for Europe,'' which 
     President Clinton invoked at the January summit, depends on 
     all our nations working together in pursuit of common 
     security interests and democratic ideals. That is the purpose 
     of the partnership, and it is the spirit in which we welcome 
     Russia as a partner today.

                          ____________________