    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [October 5, 1995]
    [Page 1536]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing the Bosnia-Herzegovina Cease-Fire Agreement and an
    Exchange With Reporters
    October 5, 1995

        The President. Good morning. Today we take another solid step on the
    hard but hopeful road to peace in Bosnia. I'm pleased to announce that
    the parties in Bosnia have agreed to a cease-fire to terminate all
    hostile military activities throughout the territory of Bosnia-
    Herzegovina to become effective on October 10th, if certain conditions
    are met.
        At the same time, the Governments of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia
    have agreed to proximity peace talks in the United States, beginning
    about October 25th, aimed at bringing them closer to a peace agreement.
    Those negotiations will take place with the assistance of our able
    negotiating team, led by Assistant Secretary Holbrooke, together with
    our Contact Group partners.
        The talks will continue, then, at an international peace conference
    in Paris that can help to achieve an enduring end to the struggle. This
    is an important moment in the painful history in Bosnia, for today the
    parties have agreed to put down their arms and roll up their sleeves and
    work for peace.
        We need to be clear-eyed about this. What matters is what the
    parties do, not simply what they say. There remain deep divisions to
    overcome. We are now on the right road, but we have by no means reached
    our destination, which is a serious and lasting peace in Bosnia. This
    cease-fire, however, greatly increases our chances to end the war and to
    achieve a peace. The United States, together with our European and our
    Russian partners, intends to use all of our influence and every ounce of
    our energy to seize this historic opportunity for peace.
        Q. Do you think it's fair to make this statement, and do you wish
    you had done it sooner? If you had moved more aggressively----
        The President. All I know is that we're on the verge of a cease-
    fire. We're going to do our best to get the cease-fire. We have 5 days
    of hard work to do on that.
        Q. Will NATO police this cease-fire? How will this be enforced?
        The President. We're going to brief you on all the details of the
    cease-fire. We intend to go forward with the cease-fire, then go forward
    with the talks here in Washington. We hope we can start the talks in
    Washington by October 25th, and we feel very strongly that that will
    increase the chances of peace.

    Note: The President spoke at 11 a.m. in the Briefing Room at the White
    House.