[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
[November 17, 1995]
[Page 1771]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty
November 17, 1995

    Today marks a milestone in our common effort to build a 
transatlantic community where cooperation, not confrontation, is the key 
to security. The parties to the CFE Treaty have achieved a goal that was 
thought unattainable less than a decade ago: They have destroyed more 
than 50,000 pieces of military equipment to establish a stable balance 
of conventional forces in Europe at levels dramatically lower than 
existed only a few years ago. CFE's implementation--including the 
conduct of thousands of onsite inspections and the exchange of detailed 
information on military forces, in addition to the destruction of 
thousands of pieces of armor, artillery, combat aircraft, and attack 
helicopters--is tangible evidence that the era of cold war confrontation 
is behind us.
    We owe this remarkable achievement to the determination of the 30 
governments represented in the CFE Joint Consultative Group. As 
envisaged when the CFE Treaty was signed in 1990, this group has been 
the key to finding cooperative solutions to countless implementation 
problems, large and small. You have made the treaty work.
    CFE has been a flexible instrument in promoting our common security. 
This has been demonstrated by our ability together in the joint 
statement approved today to agree on the broad outline of a solution to 
the issue of the flanks, which preserves the integrity of the treaty and 
does not diminish the security of any state. I urge all parties to this 
landmark treaty to work intensively to complete the task of resolving 
this issue as soon as possible.
    There are other implementation concerns as well, relating to 
equipment destruction and other issues. The United States expects all 
parties to CFE to meet their treaty obligations. This must be done if we 
are to achieve the full promise of this treaty. Working through these 
remaining problems will be a key task for the Joint Consultative Group 
in the days to come. Given the record of the past, I know that our work 
will succeed.