    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [February 24, 1993]
    [Pages 196-202]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With Prime Minister John Major of the
    United Kingdom
    February 24, 1993

        The President. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I want to
    formally welcome Prime Minister Major to the White House and to the
    United States. We are delighted to have him here. As I'm sure you know,
    he has already met earlier today with people on the Hill and with
    members of my Cabinet. We have just finished the first of two meetings.
    We talked for about an hour, and then this evening we'll have a working
    dinner.
        About the conversations we've had so far, I'd just like to make two
    points. First, we covered a wide range of topics. We talked about
    Bosnia, as you might imagine we would. We talked about the Middle East.
    And then the rest of our time was spent virtually exclusively talking
    about economic matters, about the upcoming meeting of the G-7; about the
    importance of trying to get an agreement under GATT and my commitment to
    that; about the absolute necessity of the United States, Europe, and
    Japan working together during this difficult time to try to prevent a
    contraction of the global economy and instead to hopefully promote
    growth, not only here at home but throughout the world. And we talked
    about that at some considerable detail.
        The Prime Minister, as you know, has been in office a lot longer
    than I have. And I asked him for his advice about a number of things

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    and his opinion about others. And we had a very, very good meeting. And
    I'm looking forward to our dinner tonight.
        A second point I would like to make is to reaffirm something that
    some of you asked me during the photo op, and that is whether the United
    States will continue to have a very special relationship with Great
    Britain. The answer to that from my point of view is an unqualified yes.
    I think that only two Presidents ever lived in England. I think I'm one
    of only two. There may have been more somewhere in the past centuries.
    But this is a very important relationship to me, and I think it's off to
    a very good start. And I would like to say again how much I appreciate
    the candor with which the Prime Minister has approached the issues, with
    which we've discussed our mutual interests.
        Mr. Prime Minister.
        Prime Minister Major. Mr. President, firstly, thank you for your
    welcome today. And I've found our meeting extremely useful, and I look
    forward to continuing it this evening. And I certainly had some very
    useful meetings this morning on the Hill and with other members of your
    Cabinet earlier this morning, with Lloyd Bentsen, and of course over
    lunch as well with some of your colleagues.
        It's nice, having had a number of telephone conversations over the
    last few months, to actually see a face across the table rather than
    just hear a voice across the phone. And I look forward to continuing
    that dialog this evening.
        You set out some of the things that we were able to discuss over the
    last hour or so. I was particularly pleased we were able to reach such a
    meeting of minds on the importance of reaching an agreement to the
    Uruguay round as speedily as possible. I think we share the view that
    for a raft of reasons it's important to get a satisfactory and fair
    agreement to the GATT round, not just because of the impetus that will
    give to trade growth and hopefully to prosperity and job growth as well
    but also because of the very remarkable advantage that will give not
    just to the industrialized but to the nonindustrialized world with the
    many difficulties that are faced economically at the moment. So I was
    particularly pleased at our meeting of minds on that particular subject.
        We found also a complete agreement about the need for the Security
    Council resolutions that have been imposed in respect to Iraq to be
    fully met and to be fully honored in the future. I had the pleasure of
    being able to welcome the President's initiative, humanitarian airdrops
    in Bosnia. The United Kingdom--we've got a number of thousands of troops
    actually delivering humanitarian aid in central Bosnia. They've been
    doing that for some time. I think as a result of their activities, many
    people who otherwise might not have lived through this winter have done.
    And I think this new initiative by the President is thoroughly welcome.
    So it's been a very worthwhile and a very enjoyable meeting thus far,
    and I look forward to continuing it this evening.
        The President. Thank you.

    Northern Ireland

        Q. Mr. President, do you still want a U.S. envoy--[inaudible]--
    Northern Ireland----
        The President. Well, let me answer the first question. If the United
    States can in some way make a constructive contribution to a political
    settlement, of course, we'd be interested in doing that. But that is not
    a subject we have discussed in any way so far. And I think I'd rather
    wait to make further comments until after we have a chance to discuss
    it.
        As far as the campaign, the campaign is over. You're a good one to
    ask that question, since you know that compared to previous campaigns
    I've been in, this was just sort of another day at the office. And once
    you achieve the responsibilities of office, that's what you have to do.
    I told the Prime Minister today that I was just grateful that I got
    through this whole campaign with most of my time in England still
    classified. [Laughter]

    Bosnia

        Q. [Inaudible]--on Bosnia. I'd like to ask both you and the Prime
    Minister, what do you think can be accomplished in the airdrops, since
    many in the military believe that it will not be terribly effective or
    efficient? And what other steps do you think need to be taken, military
    steps, in particular, such as some that were discussed during the
    campaign, in order to inflict enough pressure on the Serbs?
        The President. Let me deal with the airdrops first. General Powell
    came over here last weekend, and we talked for a very extended period of
    time about this operation and about how we can maximize the safety to
    United States pilots and other personnel on the planes who'd be involved
    in this and minimize the prospect that

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    any humanitarian relief operation could be drawn into the politics and
    the military operations of this area.
        We know that if we are high enough to virtually assure the complete
    safety of the people who will participate in the airlift, that a
    percentage of the packages we drop will be outside the more or less
    half-mile circle that we would be trying to hit. We also know that if we
    leaflet the area in advance, if we notify the people about what we're
    dropping and how to use the medicine and what kind of food will be
    there, to whatever extent people need it, they'll be on the lookout for
    it. And if they have to walk a mile instead of a half-mile for it, we
    think they will. So we believe that, A, there is a need in some of the
    remote areas, and B, we can do this with quite an effective but safe
    mission.
        Now, insofar as other actions, I think there are a number of things
    that we're looking at. I'm encouraged by the United Nations interest in
    the war crimes issue. I'm encouraged by the conversation the Prime
    Minister and I had about the importance of trying to make the sanctions
    that are now in force actively be more effective.
        But I would remind you that our policy is that we want to try to
    have a good faith in negotiations with all the parties there. We are
    committed to doing what we can to encourage the Bosnians to engage in
    negotiations within the Vance-Owen framework. And President Yeltsin has
    been very forthcoming on his part in trying to help get the negotiations
    back on track, too.
        So, I think we should look at it just from that point of view. It
    would be a great mistake to read this humanitarian relief operation as
    some initial foray toward a wider military role.
        Prime Minister Major. Can I just add something to that, as you
    requested. We're able, at the moment, to deliver a substantial amount of
    aid in central Bosnia by land. But the natural terrain of Bosnia, as a
    whole, means that isn't practicable for a raft of reasons, not least
    geographical reasons, at the moment in all parts of Bosnia. I think,
    therefore, you do have to look at imaginative ways of actually getting
    food aid and medicine aid through. And I think the prospect that the
    President is exploring is an imaginative one, and I hope it will prove
    successful. There are a number of logistics to be worked out.
        On sanctions, one of the things we have been discussing in the last
    half an hour or so is the prospects of enhanced sanctions, and I think
    there clearly are opportunities there that we'll need to examine.
        Q. Such as?
        Prime Minister Major. Well, I think we can improve the sanctions
    over the Danube, for example. I don't think they're being enforced very
    effectively.

    Russia

        Q. I would like to direct my question to both of you. Do you think
    that Yeltsin, President Yeltsin, is so politically weakened that his
    days are numbered? Also, what can the U.S. and the allies do to prop him
    up, to prevent another Communist takeover that could lead to another
    cold war? And are you going to meet President Yeltsin in March at any
    point?
        Prime Minister Major. I don't think President Yeltsin is weakened by
    his present conflict to the extent that he's not going to continue.
    Clearly there are difficulties in the disputes he's had with Congress
    and, in particular, the Speaker. But I expect President Yeltsin to be
    there and to continue. I think he's the best hope for the Russians, and
    I think the policies and the movements towards reform that he has in
    mind and continues to have in mind are the right ways forward.
        I think there are two things we can do to help Russia in general and
    President Yeltsin. One is the economic assistance that's been provided,
    and there's a great deal of discussion to be had about whether we're
    directing that in the right way and in the right volume.
        And secondly, I think also there's the political messages of support
    to the reformers and to the reform policies, personified at the moment
    in the person of President Yeltsin. But the underlying purpose of the
    assistance is to assist the reformers and to assist the reform policies
    in Russia. I think we ought to give them political support as well as
    the practical and economic support that we've been giving them.
        The President. I believe that President Yeltsin has not been
    paralyzed by what's happened. I support him and his role and what he's
    trying to do. I have not established a definite date for a meeting with
    him yet, but I do hope to meet with him soon personally.
        I know he's having some trouble with his Congress, but that's part
    of being in a democratic society with an elected President separate from
    the Congress. He may just be learning

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    what it's like in our system. I don't want to minimize that, but I think
    it is a grave error to assume that he cannot continue and do well. I
    believe he can.
        And I think that in terms of what we ought to be doing about it, I
    think the Prime Minister has pretty well laid out the kind of political
    and economic support we ought to be giving. But let me say that as all
    of you know, I have placed a great priority on this. The State
    Department will now have an ambassador at large whose job it is to
    coordinate a response not only to Russia but to all the Republics of the
    former Soviet Union. And we have a very distinguished American, Thomas
    Pickering, nominated to be our Ambassador to Moscow. We are putting a
    lot of effort into trying to support democracy and trying to support
    economic recovery there.

    Multilateral Trade Negotiations

        Q. [Inaudible]--I don't have a word count, sir, but it's interesting
    that Prime Minister Major here may have said more about the importance
    of the Uruguay round than you have here in the White House. I wonder, do
    you take away from your meeting with him any renewed sense of the
    importance of that round, and if so, how you plan now to approach it?
        The President. Well, we're going to ask for an extension of fast
    track authority. And we're going to really put a real effort into a
    successful conclusion of the round. I advocated that in 1991 at the
    beginning of my race for President, and I still feel very strongly that
    it's important.
        I think if you look at the press response around the world to the
    economic plan I've presented to Congress, it's been very positive
    because our trading partners have been asking us for years to make a
    real effort to reduce the debt. And so we're doing that. And I think
    that sparks hope not only here at home but around the world. And I think
    if we were to successfully conclude the Uruguay round, that would also
    spark hope that we will be expanding trade on terms that are fair to
    everyone. So I'm very hopeful that we can get a trade agreement.

    Northern Ireland

        Q. Did you raise today the question of human rights in Northern
    Ireland, and did you get to discuss it with him----
        The President. We haven't discussed Northern Ireland at all. And
    after we do, I'll be happy to answer your questions.

    Bosnia

        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, you expressed earlier--said that you are not
    remotely concerned about the British troops, that they will be in any
    danger because--[inaudible]--defense against these deliveries, and the
    President has said--[inaudible]--slight risk. And I'm wondering, beyond
    your saying you have this policy, if both of you could give some idea of
    why you sound so confident there will be no attempts to stop this--
    [inaudible]. There's been a lot of effort to block it so far.
        The President. Well, all I can tell you is General Powell has been--
    let me answer, and then he'll answer--has been asked to design the
    mission in such a way that we would minimize risk to our folks. And we
    have obviously engaged in an extensive consultation, which is not over.
    Helen's [Helen Thomas, United Press International] been asking me every
    day when I was ready to make this announcement. The consultations aren't
    over. And one of the things that we want, we want everybody to know that
    this is a humanitarian mission, that we're prepared to help anybody who
    needs the food and medicine. And we want the broadest possible support
    for this. And we want all the people on the ground in the various
    factions to know that this is not a political issue with us. We're very
    encouraged by the responses we've gotten so far to all the elements with
    whom we have discussed this plan. That's all I can tell you.
        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, could you answer, please?
        Prime Minister Major. I don't think there's a great deal to add to
    it. As I indicated earlier, there's a twin-track approach. We're
    providing aid by land. The President has in mind aid delivered by air to
    areas where we can't reach it by land. I've no reason to suppose that
    that is going to put at risk the lives of the British soldiers in
    central Bosnia.
        Q. But you're in an area where they have a fighter capability and an
    antiaircraft weapon. If they don't want this material to be delivered,
    they have to use that.
        Prime Minister Major. Well, you asked the question. I've given you
    the judgment I make.

    Middle East Peace Talks

        Q. Mr. President, you said you discussed the Middle East. Did you
    reach any conclusion, and

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    do you favor returning to the peace talks even if the Palestinians do
    not?
        The President. We talked mostly about the importance of adhering to
    the United Nations resolutions as they apply to Iraq and the aftermath
    of the Gulf war and about our general support for the peace process
    continuing. We didn't deal with that issue, and I think I ought to wait
    until the Secretary of State returns from his mission before I discuss
    it further.

    Bosnia

        Q. You talk about consultations on Bosnia. Is there any realistic
    expectations at this point that any other country except for the United
    States will be involved in this airdrop?
        The President. Yes, we might have some other countries involved in
    it. I don't think it would be--I believe the Prime Minister made his
    statement. I think he's done his part. His troops are on the ground
    there. But I think there is a chance that we will have support from
    other nations.
        Q. [Inaudible]--ask Great Britain to participate in the airdrop as
    well?
        The President. No.
        Q. [Inaudible]--question to both leaders. Do you think that the
    current Vance-Owen map forms the fair basis for a settlement of the
    crisis in the former Yugoslavia?
        Prime Minister Major. Well, that's the matter that has to be
    negotiated between the parties. And I don't think I'm going to express a
    view on whether that is the right map. I think the process of seeking a
    negotiated settlement and trying to reach by agreement between the three
    parties, an agreement on the map that will enable a political settlement
    to be reached is the right way. But I don't think it's for me to judge
    whether the map is right.
        Clearly, the views of the participants at the moment is that the map
    isn't right. But that is the purpose of negotiations. That is why I was
    delighted to hear this morning that Karadzic and Izetbegovic will be
    joining talks again with Boban so that they can actually talk to Cy
    Vance and David Owen and see if they can reach an agreement. The first
    prize is clearly an agreement that is reached voluntarily and willingly
    and as speedily as possible.
        The President. The only thing I would say, just to add to that, is
    that I agree with what the Prime Minister has said. As you know, the
    United States feels very strongly that this agreement must be just that,
    an agreement that must not be shoved down the throat of the Bosnians or
    anyone else if it's going to work. We also feel strongly that all the
    parties should negotiate in good faith.
        And therefore, I agree with what he said about the map. I would make
    this further point: The United States has made it clear in our statement
    of policy that if an agreement is reached in good faith, that we would
    be prepared to be part of a NATO or United Nations effort to monitor or
    support the agreement, and that map would be difficult to monitor and
    support, I think.
        But I think we're going to have to--before we make any final
    judgments, we need to give the parties a chance to reach their accord.

    Spending Cuts

        Q. Mr. President, on--[inaudible]--economics, you indicated you will
    find more spending cuts. Will you give a sense of when? And are you
    really talking about a new round of cuts or just----
        The President. Oh well, what I said was, I have invited the Members
    of the Congress to present them to me and instructed our people to
    continue to look for them. And I presume as we define things that we're
    willing to put on the table, we will continue to do it. We don't have
    any orchestrated theory about how to do that now. But I'd be surprised
    if there aren't some more coming.

    Airbus

        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, were you disappointed or taken aback by what
    the President said the other day about the airbus, and were you
    reassured by your conversations today?
        Prime Minister Major. There's an agreement over the degree of
    subsidies for projects like airbus. And that agreement continues into
    July, and I think there is no proposition in what the President said to
    change that particular agreement.

    Northern Ireland

        Q. Mr. President, you said you may discuss Northern Ireland this
    evening. Would you expect to discuss both the--[inaudible]--issue and
    the human rights issue? And do you share the view expressed by some
    Members of Congress, Senators and Representatives, that there are abuses
    to human rights in Northern Ireland that

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    need to be addressed? And perhaps the Prime Minister would like to
    address that allegation.
        Prime Minister Major. Well, I'll address that point first. The real
    abuse of human rights in Northern Ireland is the abuse of human rights
    of people who find bombs in shopping malls when they're going about
    their ordinary, everyday business. I think that is the abuse of human
    rights that is overwhelmingly the concern of everybody in Northern
    Ireland on both sides of the sectarian divide.
        Over the past 2 or 3 years, the British Government with the
    Taoiseach and with the political parties in Northern Ireland, have been
    engaged on talks to try and find a political settlement to a problem
    that has existed in Northern Ireland for generations. We are seeking
    that agreement. Those talks, I believe it is fair to say, have made more
    progress than most people believed was possible.
        Talks came to a halt with the general election in the Republic of
    Ireland and the forthcoming local elections in Northern Ireland. But it
    is the policy of my government to resume those talks, to resume those
    talks with all the parties in Northern Ireland and try and reach a
    satisfactory political settlement and remove many of the disputes and
    hatreds that have existed for generations.
        Those disputes and hatreds are worsened by violence, whether it is
    the IRA violence or whether it is the response to IRA violence which has
    also been prevalent over the last year or so. I condemn both
    unreservedly and without any distinction.
        Q. Mr. President--[inaudible]--respond to that.
        The President. I believe that obviously there has to be a political
    solution there, or there will be no solution at all, and that the human
    rights issues will have to be addressed in that context. Whether the
    United States can play any sort of constructive role is something that
    we want to discuss later this evening.
        Press Secretary Myers. Last question.

    Economic Program

        Q. Mr. President, here just one week after your speech announcing
    your budget and economic plan, Senator Bob Dole is pronouncing it in
    trouble. What's your read on that, and do you think this is the start of
    a war of words that's going to slow down the whole process?
        The President. Well, I think you have to expect that there would be
    some trouble. And the Senate Minority Leader can say that. But he was
    here during the last 12 years when other Presidents and the Congress
    quadrupled the national debt. I'm trying to do something about it and
    turn it around and go in the opposite direction. The surveys show that a
    big majority of the American people support my initiative. The response
    from people and governments around the world, it's been almost uniformly
    positive that America's trying to change the nature of its economic
    policy, reduce its debt, increase investment in high growth items. And I
    never expected this to be easy. This is a fundamental change. I don't
    expect it to be easy. But I hope that I'll be working with Senator Dole
    and with others to bring it to a successful conclusion.
        Q. Can I follow up on that, Mr. President?

    Prime Minister Mulroney of Canada

        Q. [Inaudible]--Canada? Have you spoken to the Prime Minister?
        The President. Yes, I spoke to the Prime Minister of Canada. We had
    a very nice conversation, which was mostly personal. And I thanked him
    for his kindness to me. And he assured me that his country would
    continue to work with me and that he would personally until his tenure
    in office was over. I wish him well. He seemed to be a person who had
    worked through this and was very much at peace with himself today.
        Prime Minister Major. Can I just answer that point as well? I regard
    Brian as an old friend and a good friend. I shall miss him. He's been a
    very good friend to the United Kingdom and a very good friend to the
    Commonwealth. So I'm sad to hear of his decision today. It must be his
    decision. I wish him well in the future, and I look forward to seeing
    him in the United Kingdom in a few weeks' time.

    Northern Ireland

        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, do you think there's any constructive role
    the United States can play in solving the Northern Ireland problem?
        Prime Minister Major. I think from time to time distinguished
    visitors from the United States in Northern Ireland have come back to
    the United States, and they have actually explained the remarkable
    changes that have taken part in Belfast. There was a delegation that was
    there recently. And the reality is that anyone

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    who knew the place 10 years ago and knows the place today will see there
    is an absolute and total sea change. And I think the fact that there is
    a great knowledge about the willful peace amongst people in Northern
    Ireland and especially the ordinary people of Northern Ireland of both
    sides of the sectarian divide, the more that is understood, the better.
    And what is actually needed in Northern Ireland to help speed that is
    more understanding of the process, more support for the talks, more
    investment for job creation, and less money to fund terrorism. And the
    more people know about that, the nearer we come to a solution.
        Press Secretary Myers. Thank you.

    Note: The President's fourth news conference began at 4:32 p.m. in the
    East Room at the White House. In his remarks, the Prime Minister
    referred to Lord David Owen and Cyrus Vance, Cochairmen of the
    International Conference on the former Yugoslavia; Alija Izetbegovic,
    President, Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina; Radovan Karadzic, Bosnian
    Serb leader; and Mate Boban, Bosnian Croat leader.