    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [December 5, 1994]
    [Pages 2144-2146]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 2144]]

    Remarks to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in
    Budapest, Hungary
    December 5, 1994

        Thank you, President Klestil, President Goncz. I am delighted to be
    here in this great city in Central Europe at this historic meeting.
        The United States is committed to building a united, free, and
    secure Europe. We believe that goal requires a determined effort to
    continue to reduce the nuclear threat; a strong NATO, adapting to new
    challenges; a strong CSCE, working, among other things, to lead efforts
    to head off future Bosnias; and a strong effort at cooperating with the
    United Nations and an effort by all the nations of Europe to work
    together in harmony on common problems and opportunities.
        In the 20th century, conflict and distrust have ruled Europe. The
    steps we are taking today will help to ensure that in the 21st century,
    peace and prosperity reign.
        The forces that tore Europe apart have been defeated. But neither
    peace nor democracy's triumph is assured. The end of the cold war
    presents us with the opportunity to fulfill the promise of democracy and
    freedom. And it is our responsibility, working together, to seize it, to
    build a new security framework for the era ahead. We must not allow the
    Iron Curtain to be replaced by a veil of indifference. We must not
    consign new democracies to a gray zone.
        Instead, we seek to increase the security of all, to erase the old
    lines without drawing arbitrary new ones, to bolster emerging
    democracies, and to integrate the nations of Europe into a continent
    where democracy and free markets know no borders but where every
    nation's borders are secure.
        We are making progress on the issues that matter for the future.
    Today, here, five of this organization's member states, Belarus,
    Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, will bring the START
    I treaty into force and reduce the nuclear threat that has hung over our
    heads for nearly a half century. START I will eliminate strategic
    bombers and missile launchers that carried over 9,000 warheads. And it
    opens the door to prompt ratification of START II, which will retire
    another 5,000 warheads. These actions will cut the arsenals of the
    United States and the former Soviet Union more than 60 percent from
    their cold war peak. The world will be a safer place as a result.
        But even as we celebrate this landmark gain for peace, the terrible
    conflict in Bosnia rages not 300 miles from this city. After 3 years of
    conflict, the combatants remain locked in a terrible war no one can win.
    Now each faces the same choice: They can perpetuate the military
    standoff, or they can stop spilling blood and start making peace.
        The Government of Bosnia-Herzegovina has made the right choice by
    accepting the international peace plan and agreeing to recent calls for
    a cease-fire. So I say again to the Bosnian Serbs: End the aggression;
    agree to the cease-fire and renewed negotiations on the basis of the
    Contact Group plan. Settle your differences at the negotiating table,
    not the battlefield.
        We mustn't let our frustration over that war cause us to give up our
    efforts to end it. And the United States will not do so. If we have
    learned anything from the agony of Bosnia, it is clearly that we must
    act on its lessons. In other parts of Europe, ethnic disputes and forces
    of hatred and despair, demagogs who would take advantage of them
    threaten to reverse the new wave of freedom that has swept the
    Continent.
        So as we strive to end the war in Bosnia, we must work to prevent
    future Bosnias. And we must build the structures that will help newly
    free nations to complete their transformation successfully to free
    market democracies and preserve their own freedom. We know this is not
    something that will happen overnight. But over time, NATO, the CSCE,
    other European and transatlantic institutions, working in close
    cooperation with the United Nations, can support and extend the
    democracy, stability, and prosperity that Western Europe and North
    America have enjoyed for 50 years. That is the future we are working to
    build.
        NATO remains the bedrock of security in Europe, but its role is
    changing as the Continent changes. Last January NATO opened the door to
    new members and launched the Partnership For Peace. Since then, 23
    nations have joined

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    that partnership to train together, conduct joint military exercises,
    and forge closer political links.
        Last week we took further steps to prepare for expansion by starting
    work on the requirements for membership. New members will join country
    by country, gradually and openly. Each must be committed to democracy
    and free markets and be able to contribute to Europe's security. NATO
    will not automatically exclude any nation from joining. At the same
    time, no country outside will be allowed to veto expansion.
        As NATO does expand, so will security for all European states, for
    it is not an aggressive but a defensive organization. NATO's new
    members, old members, and nonmembers alike will be more secure. As NATO
    continues its mission, other institutions can and should share the
    security burden and take on special responsibilities. A strong and
    vibrant Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe is vital.
        For more than a decade, the CSCE was the focal point for courageous
    men and women who, at great personal risk, confronted tyranny to win the
    human rights set out in the Helsinki accords. Now, the CSCE can help to
    build a new and integrated continent. It has unique tools for this task.
    The CSCE is the only regional forum to which nearly every nation in
    Europe and North America belongs. It has pioneered ways to peacefully
    resolve conflicts, from shuttle diplomacy to longstanding missions in
    tense areas. Now that freedom has been won in Europe, the CSCE can play
    an expanding role in making sure it is never lost again.
        Indeed, its proposed new name, the Organization for Security and
    Cooperation in Europe, symbolizes the new and important mission we
    believe it must undertake. The CSCE should be our first flexible line of
    defense against ethnic and regional conflicts. Its rules can guard
    against the assertion of hegemony or spheres of influence. It can help
    nations come together to build prosperity. And it can promote Europe's
    integration piece by piece.
        By focusing on human rights, conflict prevention, dispute
    resolution, the CSCE can help prevent future Bosnias. We are taking
    important steps at this meeting for that crucial goal by strengthening
    the High Commissioner for National Minorities, establishing a code of
    conduct to provide for democratic civilian control of the military,
    reinforcing principles to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass
    destruction, and preparing to send CSCE monitors and peacekeepers to
    potential trouble spots outside Bosnia. These actions will not make
    triumphant headlines, but they may help to prevent tragic ones.
        The principles adopted in Rome made clear that any peacekeeping
    mission must aim for a freely negotiated settlement by the parties
    themselves, not a solution imposed from the outside. And they hold that
    no country can use a regional conflict, however threatening, to
    strengthen its security at the expense of others.
        I am very encouraged that with the support and involvement of the
    Russian Federation, we are on the verge of an agreement that the CSCE
    will lead a multinational peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh. The
    United States appreciates the willingness of many nations to contribute
    troops and materiel for this mission. The continuing tragedy in Nagorno-
    Karabakh demands that we redouble our efforts to promote a lasting
    cease-fire and a fair settlement. The United States strongly supports
    this effort and calls upon all CSCE members to contribute toward it.
        The CSCE also has an important role to play in promoting economic
    growth while protecting Europe's resources and environment. We should
    strengthen its efforts to increase regional and cross-border
    cooperation. Such efforts can bring people together to build new
    highways, bridges, and communication networks, the infrastructure of
    democracy.
        Since 1975, when the countries of Europe expressed the desire to
    form a community founded on common values and founded the CSCE, more
    progress has occurred than even dreamers might have hoped. We know that
    change is possible. We know that former enemies can reconcile. We know
    that eloquent intentions about democracy and human rights can promote
    peace when transformed from words into actions.
        Now, almost 20 years later, our challenge is to help the freedoms we
    secured spread and endure. The task will require energy and strength.
    Old regimes have crumbled, but new legacies and mistrust remain. Nations
    have been liberated, but ethnic hatred threatens peace and tolerance.
    Democracy and free markets are emerging, but change everywhere is
    causing fear and insecurity.
        Three times before in this century, our nations have summoned the
    strength to defeat history's dark forces. They have left us still with

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    a great responsibility and an extraordinary opportunity. Our mission now
    is to build a new world for our children, a world more democratic, more
    prosperous, and more secure. The CSCE has a vital role to play.
        Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:58 a.m. in Patria Hall at the Budapest
    Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to President Thomas
    Klestil of Austria and President Arpad Goncz of Hungary. A tape was not
    available for verification of the content of these remarks.