    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [March 5, 1991]
    [Page 214]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With Foreign Minister Francisco Fernandez-
    Ordonez of Spain
    March 5, 1991

        The President. May I just repeat for our friends from Spain what I
    said earlier to the first wave, and that is that we on the United States
    side are very grateful for the cooperation that we've had with Spain
    regarding the Gulf crisis. And they've been steadfast, solid as a rock.
    And I am indebted, as I explained to the Foreign Minister, to him and to
    the Prime Minister and to His Majesty for understanding and support. And
    Spain was there, and they were very strong, and I am very grateful. And
    I know the Secretary feels the same way.
        So, we're glad to have you here. Glad to see you.
        The Foreign Minister. Thank you.
        The President. The statement today--was this a regular meeting of
    Parliament at home?
        The Foreign Minister. No, no, this was a special meeting.
        The President. Special meeting.
        The Foreign Minister. For the end of the Gulf war. It was a debate.
    We have the support of 90 percent of the Parliament. And he made the
    statement saying that we would continue providing the good support that
    we have made from there.
        The President. Well, we got it.
        The Foreign Minister. ----is very good.
        The President. That is very important. And I might also add, I think
    the cooperation we've had in matters regarding this hemisphere--of
    course, the respect that Spain has and that your Prime Minister has in
    Central America and South America is legion. Everybody knows that. But
    it's--we've got to continue to work together.
        We've been so busy with the Gulf that I just don't--have told our
    side that we don't want to neglect our own hemisphere. And Spain can be
    a tremendous catalyst for peace and democracy there, where you have
    already started to be. And every time I go down there, people speak so
    highly of the Prime Minister and your efforts. I wanted to mention that
    here, that we want to stay together as much as we possibly can on
    matters related to this hemisphere.
        I'm optimistic about it, although there are some tough economic
    problems in there right now.

                        Note: The President spoke at 1:20 p.m. in the Oval
                            Office at the White House. In his remarks, he
                            referred to Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez
                            Marquez and King Juan Carlos I of Spain, and
                            Secretary of State James A. Baker III. A tape
                            was not available for verification of the
                            content of these remarks.