[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[July 10, 1992]
[Page 1108]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1108]]

Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the Treaty on Conventional 
Armed Forces in Europe

July 10, 1992
    Today at the Helsinki summit, President Bush, along with the leaders 
of 28 other European nations, agreed that the Treaty on Conventional 
Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) will be applied provisionally on July 17, 
1992, to enter into force this fall with the full participation by the 
original signatories and the eight new states of the former Soviet Union 
with territory in CFE's zone of application.
    The United States attaches great importance to this event because 
joining CFE is a key indication of the new states' commitment to 
achieving lower and more stable levels of conventional military forces 
in Europe. Along with our treaty partners, the United States has worked 
hard to make CFE a reality. In the end, it was achieved because all 
participants, East and West, recognized that CFE's unprecedented force 
reductions, information exchanges, and verification provisions are the 
cornerstone for efforts to further improve European security in the 
years ahead.
    President Bush also signed the Concluding Act of the Negotiation on 
Personnel Strength of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, otherwise 
known as the CFE-1A agreement. CFE-1A negotiations began shortly after 
the CFE Treaty was signed in 1990. The CFE-1A accord places politically 
binding limits on military manpower in Europe. Along with the equipment 
limits of the CFE Treaty, CFE-1A establishes comprehensive and stable 
levels of conventional military forces on the Continent.