    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [October 23, 1995]
    [Pages 1661-1663]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1661]]

    The President's News Conference With President Boris Yeltsin of Russia
    in Hyde Park, New York
    October 23, 1995

        President Clinton. We don't have prepared statements, but we will
    each make a very brief statement, and then we'll take a couple of
    questions.
        This was our eighth visit as heads of state. It was a good and
    productive one which emphasized the stability and the strength of the
    partnership between the United States and Russia.
        We spent the vast majority of our time discussing Bosnia, and we
    reached complete agreement about how we would work together for peace
    there. We reached agreement on the importance of the involvement of
    Russia and the other Contact Group partners in the peace process. On the
    question of what our roles would be in the implementation of a peace
    agreement, we made some progress, and we agreed that our
    representatives, Secretary Perry and Minister Grachev, would continue to
    work on this in the coming days, literally in just a matter of days.
        We discussed a number of other issues. I think I should mention
    three very briefly. First, we agreed that we would both push hard for
    the ratification of START II. Second, we agreed that we would continue
    our close cooperation on nuclear security, and we have a statement that
    we have already agreed on prepared by our experts which will be released
    today. And finally, we agreed--and this is very, very important--that we
    would work together to succeed in getting a zero-yield comprehensive
    test ban treaty next year. This is a major, major step, and it
    dramatically increases the chances of our success for a sweeping
    comprehensive test ban treaty in 1996. And I want to thank President
    Yeltsin for that.
        Mr. President.
        President Yeltsin. Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear journalists: I
    want to say, first of all, that when I came here to the United States
    for this visit at the invitation of the President of the United States,
    Bill Clinton, I did not at that time have the degree of optimism with
    which I now am departing.
        And this is all due to you because, coming from my statement
    yesterday in the United Nations, and if you looked at the press reports,
    one could see that what you were writing was that today's meeting with
    President Bill Clinton was going to be a disaster. [Laughter] Well, now
    for the first time, I can tell you that you're a disaster. [Laughter]
        President Clinton. Be sure you get the right attribution there.
    [Laughter]
        President Yeltsin. This proves that our partnership is not
    calculated for one year or for 5 years but for years and years to come--
    tens of years, for a century; that we're friends, and that it's only
    together, together we're going to be trying to solve not only our joint
    bilateral issues but issues affecting the whole world.
        How many journalists' brains are used to constantly try to figure
    out what kinds of different versions and options the two Presidents are
    going to try to come up with regarding Bosnia? I can't say that your
    brains turned out to be useless--[laughter]--of course, you also helped
    us, and we are grateful. And so you did help us because when Bill and I
    sat down to look at the different options, we used even some of your
    seemingly most unbelievable options. [Laughter]
        Bill said also that we agreed on nuclear disarmament. We agreed on a
    whole host of issues, not just those that affect our two countries but
    that affect all the countries of the world. Bill neglected to say we
    also came to terms on the flank limits that have been placed. And I want
    to say a big, big thank you to Bill for supporting us so strongly on
    this score.
        I want to say a big, big thank you, Bill, for inviting me here to
    this most magnificent site. If all of you look around you, look behind
    you--the most incredible scenery--you will find this a most lovely place
    to host such a meeting. I want to thank Bill from the bottom of my
    heart, to bow my head before all of the people, the people who work
    here, who support this wonderful museum, the staff who made this visit
    so wonderful, all of you who support not only the museum but also the
    persona, the personality of President Roosevelt, the one who was a
    personality not only for the United States but for all the peoples of
    the world for all time.

    [[Page 1662]]

    I do want to bow my head and thank all of you for this wonderful
    occasion.
        So with this, I want to stop with my introductory remarks. We'll
    have just a couple of questions. And as soon as we start we're going to
    finish, so very short. First question to the President of the United
    States.

    Bosnia

        Q. Mr. President, could you tell us what progress----
        Q. Could you tell us----
        Q. Could you tell us, Mr. President--President Yeltsin, are Russians
    now willing to work under the command and control of NATO in a
    peacekeeping mission in Bosnia? And then a followup for President
    Clinton.
        President Clinton. I understand that, but let me just say first, we
    agreed that it was important for Russia to participate in the
    implementation of the agreement. We discussed some specifics on which we
    were in accord and some on which we agreed that we had to let our
    defense experts work. And we decided that we would say nothing here
    which would make their work any harder than it already is.

    Russia-U.S. Relations

        Q. Mr. Clinton, as the Russian press, we'd like to ask you the
    following question. You were saying that not only has it not caved in,
    our partnership has not caved in but it has become stronger and better.
    Does that indicate that Russia and the United States will be for the
    future generations the guarantor of peace, that there will be no wars?
        President Yeltsin. With the faith of two big Presidents like us, our
    faith is getting stronger. And with this faith, it means that we have
    decided that there shall be no disagreement between our two countries,
    that our partnership will in fact be strengthened, and having this faith
    means that we will move into the future toward peace, either with no war
    or a minimum of war.

    Bosnia

        Q. Could we get the answer to President Yeltsin's original question,
    and that is whether or not he could ever accept the idea of Russian
    forces being under a NATO command? And for those of us in this country
    who've followed this dispute, it is difficult to understand how you
    could have made progress given how different your positions have been in
    the past, and especially after what you said at the United Nations
    yesterday.
        President Yeltsin. We agreed today that Russian armed forces will
    participate in these operations. But how they go about doing it is the
    affair of the military; it is not a question for us two Presidents. We
    have done our task.

    Russia-U.S. Relations

        Q. How would you characterize, President Yeltsin, the way the talks
    went today, as a whole, in general?
        President Yeltsin. When I came here I thought we were going to have
    very, very tough meetings. I was not looking forward to the very
    difficult, complicated discussions. I had a lot of apprehensions.
    However, on my way here, I flew into Paris, had detailed talks with
    Jacques Chirac. On the phone I had discussions with Helmut Kohl. I met
    also very actively with other leaders. President Bill Clinton was very
    active in meeting with world leaders.
        And in spite of the forecasts that said that this would be a
    breakdown, that this would not be a success, this turns out to be today
    the friendliest meeting, the best meeting, the most understandable
    meeting, not only for each other but for all the people of the world.
        And we discussed individual positions; then we arrived at common
    positions. And I must say that this kind of meeting is not an official
    summit, it is a working meeting. But this most successful working
    meeting is worthy of meetings that would last hundreds of days, and
    these big issues, global issues that affect the lives of all the peoples
    on this planet.
        President Clinton. I'll take one more question, but I'd like to say
    something about your question as well. If I could speak directly to the
    Russian people, I would say that the United States and Russia have
    established an important partnership. It's a partnership of mutual
    respect based on a shared commitment to democracy, a shared commitment
    to working for the prosperity of the Russian people, and ultimately a
    partnership which helps us both economically and, perhaps most
    important, working together to make the 21st century a time of greater
    peace and greater freedom and greater prosperity for all the people of
    the world.
        That is the larger truth in which all these issues should be seen.
    That is why we have made such remarkable progress in dealing with

    [[Page 1663]]

    the nuclear issues. There is no relationship between two human beings,
    much less two countries, with their own unique histories, their own
    unique aspirations, their own unique fears and understandings, that does
    not have occasional differences of opinion. That would happen in any
    friendship, in any marriage, in any business; certainly it will happen
    between two countries. But if we keep the larger truth in mind, we will
    be able to work together and sustain this partnership. And it is very
    important for our people and for the people of the world that we do so.
        Interpreter. Thank you very much.
        President Clinton. They cut it, sorry.
        President Yeltsin. Thank you.
        President Clinton. Well, I promised him one more. Go ahead. Boris--
    President Yeltsin insisted that an American have the last question, so
    go ahead.

    Bosnia

        Q. Mr. President, members of your administration said coming into
    this meeting that a Bosnia peacekeeping operation in which Russian
    forces were not under NATO command and control or there was some type of
    dual key arrangement wouldn't work. Is that still the U.S. position?
        President Clinton. Our position is that we're going to have an
    operation that works. We want Russia to be involved in it. We made some
    progress today consistent with both of our objectives, with neither side
    giving up the things that were most important to it. We made some
    progress today on that. And we recognized that some of the things that
    needed to be decided neither of us could in good conscience decide
    without giving our military leaders the chance to work through that. So
    we agreed that this week, this week, our military leaders would keep
    working.
        That is all I can tell you; the more we say about it, the worse it
    will be. We are moving toward peace. The first and most important thing
    is, make peace in Bosnia. That has not been done yet. If that happens--
    and we hope it will, and we've agreed on that completely, how we will
    approach it--then we have the responsibility to work together to make
    the peace work. And we will do that.
        President Yeltsin. I want to add, you are underestimating the
    Presidents of two such great powers. Maybe something didn't quite reach
    you. Maybe you can't quite figure out how we can solve it, but it came
    to us; it reached us.

    Note: The President's 104th news conference began at 3:44 p.m. on the
    front steps of the Franklin D. Roosevelt home. In his remarks, he
    referred to Russian Minister of Defense Pavel Grachev. President Yeltsin
    spoke in Russian, and his remarks were translated by an interpreter.