[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.