    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [April 16, 1993]
    [Page 438]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Kiichi
    Miyazawa of Japan
    April 16, 1993

    Bosnia

        Q. Mr. President, we understand that Srebrenica is about to fall and
    some 60,000 Bosnian Muslims may be evacuated or surrender on your watch.
    That must be pretty painful.
        The President.  I regret that it's happening. We met and discussed
    this morning what our other options are and whether our allies might now
    be willing to take further action. We may know some more before the end
    of the day.
        Q. Do you expect some military action to do something about this?
        The President.  We're looking at a number of options. I don't want
    to rule in or out any, except that we've never considered the
    introduction of American ground forces as you know. But I hope that the
    gravity of the situation will develop a consensus among the United
    Nations partners. We'll see.

    Japan-U.S. Trade

        Q. Has the widening of the trade deficit with Japan--does that add
    importance to this meeting today, sir?
        The President.  Sure. Of course.

    [At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group
    entered.]

    Japan's Support for Aid to Russia

        Q. Mr. President, would you mind explaining to us what you meant
    when you said to President Yeltsin, Japanese yes often means no?
        The President.  I don't know whether to say yes or no.
        Prime Minister Miyazawa. Remember the song ``Yes, We Have No
    Bananas''? The idea is, I think----
        The President.  Bananas. Yes. That's it.
        Prime Minister Miyazawa. ----every language has its own peculiarity.

    Japan-U.S. Discussions

        Q. President, are you talking about the exchange rate today with Mr.
    Miyazawa?
        The President.  We haven't had a chance to start our conversation. I
    think we'll talk about a lot of things today, many things.
        Q. What kind of talks do you think are top priority at this meeting
    with Mr. Prime Minister Miyazawa?
        Prime Minister Miyazawa. You'll know in 2 hours. [Laughter]

    Note: The exchange began at 10:33 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this
    exchange.