    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [April 3, 1997]
    [Pages 381-383]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Antonio Guterres of
    Portugal and an Exchange With Reporters
    April 3, 1997

        President Clinton. Let me say it's a great honor for the United
    States to have Prime Minister Guterres here from Portugal. We are
    immensely grateful to Portugal for many things and our partnerships. But
    I would especially mention their peacekeeping role as a nation in Bosnia
    and Africa, the work we've done together in the United Nations, the work
    we are going to discuss today regarding NATO. And we appreciate the very
    progressive and strong leadership the Prime Minister has given to his
    nation.
        So I'm looking forward to this, and it's been too long coming, but
    I'm very glad to have you here. Would you like to say anything?
        Prime Minister Guterres. Well, first of all, let me say how happy
    and proud I am to accept the invitation of President Clinton. Portugal,
    as you know, is very much in favor of a united Europe, but we want a
    Europe that preserves its Atlantic character. And for us, the
    relationship between Europe and the United States is an extremely
    important part of our own way of life. And this is relevant in
    economics, in

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    culture, in people-to-people contacts, and also in defense and security.
        We want NATO to go on as the basic framework for European security,
    and we consider that the United States has an irreplaceable role in the
    guarantee of European security. And we are very happy with the
    partnership that we have been able to establish in the past, and we are
    looking forward to improve as much as possible our bilateral relations
    that have been excellent, as a matter of fact, in the past.
        President Clinton's ideas have been very inspiring to our own
    programs, and we hope to go on doing our best to take profit of your
    initiatives, your ideas, your policies.

    Russia and NATO Expansion

        Q. And you also are in favor of expansion of NATO, and what kind of
    an agreement, charter are you going to have with Russia?
        Prime Minister Guterres. Well, I think that the expansion of NATO
    is--as the expansion of the European Union, it's a basic condition for
    democracy, for peace and stability in Central and Eastern European
    countries.
        And as for Portugal, it has been extremely important 10 or 15 years
    ago to consolidate our democracy. I think the same right must be granted
    to those new democracies in Eastern Europe. Of course, we understand
    that it is very important to preserve the very special relationship with
    the new Russia.
        I once heard Vice President Al Gore telling me that he looked at the
    enlargement of NATO and relations with Russia like the coupling of two
    space ships and the need to put them in the same orbit. I think this is
    a very good idea, and I think it's what effectively is being done now
    with the recent contacts in Helsinki and all the preparatory work that
    is going on.
        I hope that one day in the future NATO and Russia can be allies,
    defending the values of enlightenment against all the irrational
    behaviors in the modern world, irrational behaviors based on extreme
    nationalism, religious fundamentalism, and all other things that should
    not exist in a modern world.

    Webster Hubbell

        Q. Mr. President, earlier this year when asked about the $100,000
    Lippo payment to Webb Hubbell, you said, ``I can't imagine who could
    have ever arranged to do something improper like that, and no one around
    here knows about it.'' Were the phone calls----
        President Clinton. That's not what I said.
        Q. Let me ask this question----
        President Clinton. I don't believe that's exactly what I said.
        Q. Let me ask you this, Mr. President. Were the phone calls made by
    Mack McLarty and Erskine Bowles proper or improper? And if you knew
    about them, should you have put a stop to them?
        President Clinton. Well, first of all, let's go back to what you
    said before. I believe what I said was that I was unaware of the Lippo
    contract until it became public. And I believe that's all I said. I
    rendered no judgment on it one way or the other.
        Secondly, I do not believe they were improper. From what I know
    about them, they were just--they were people who were genuinely
    concerned that there was a man who was out of work, who had four
    children. And as I understand it, they were trying to help him for no
    other reason than just out of human compassion.
        Secondly, let me remind you of the critical fact. At the time that
    it was done, no one had any idea about whether any--what the nature of
    the allegations were against Mr. Hubbell or whether they were true.
    Everybody thought there was some sort of billing dispute with his law
    firm. And that's all anybody knew about it. So, no, I do not think they
    did anything improper.

    Campaign Documents

        Q. Mr. President, Harold Ickes took a carload of documents away from
    the campaign. National Archives says it was your call. Did you give him
    permission to take all of those papers from the campaign?
        President Clinton. I don't remember being asked about it one way or
    the other. I don't remember being asked about it.
        Q. Do you care?
        President Clinton. Well, I didn't know it was my call to care. I
    don't remember being asked about it. I'd have to know more about it
    before I could answer that question.

    [At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group
    entered.]

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    Visit of Prime Minister Guterres

        President Clinton. Let me begin by saying it's a great honor for the
    United States and for me personally to have the Prime Minister here
    today. We are very proud of our friendship with Portugal. Our
    partnership, our alliance is very important to us. We are especially
    grateful for the leadership that Portugal has evidenced in peacekeeping
    in Bosnia, in Africa, in the United Nations, in our discussions about
    the role of NATO in the future and the expansion of NATO. And I have
    looked forward to this meeting for a long time, and I'm anxious to have
    it with the Prime Minister.
        And I think I'd like to give the Prime Minister a chance to make a
    few remarks, and then if you have a question or two, we'll try to answer
    them.
        Prime Minister Guterres. Well, first of all let me say how happy and
    proud I am to have been able to accept this kind invitation of President
    Clinton. This is a very exciting moment for the Atlantic community, and
    we have many things to discuss about our common interests in regards to
    the relations between Europe and the United States, at the level of the
    European Union, NATO, NATO's enlargement, relations with Russia, and
    also doing our best to improve the excellent bilateral relations that we
    have between the United States and Portugal. So it's really a very good
    opportunity for us also to discuss some of the very inspiring ideas that
    President Clinton has introduced in the world political debate.

    East Timor

        Q. Mr. President, do you plan to review the United States position
    on the incorporation of its East Timor at any stage, sir?
        President Clinton. What about East Timor?
        Q. At the moment, the U.S. recognizes the incorporation of East
    Timor without maintaining that legitimate act of self-determination took
    place. Do you plan to review this position once it has about, I think,
    about quite a couple of years?
        President Clinton. Well, my main concern now is to make sure that we
    have done everything we can possibly do to respect the political and
    human rights of the people in East Timor. And the United States has
    been--particularly since I became President, has been very forthright on
    that subject. And I know that Portugal has as well and has a longer
    attachment than we do there. So that's one of the things I want to talk
    to the Prime Minister about, about what we can do to further the cause
    of human rights for the people of East Timor.
        Q. But Mr. President, you told Senator Feingold, regarding a
    proposal for a referendum in East Timor for self-determination, that you
    would take his idea into consideration in a letter you sent him late
    last year. What does that mean exactly? Does that mean that a review of
    that position is possible? Could you explain the meaning of it?
        President Clinton. It means that I think we should do whatever is
    most likely to give us sufficient influence to guarantee basic human
    rights protections for the people of East Timor. And we have to do what
    we think is most likely to achieve our overriding objective, which is to
    give those people a chance to have the lives of decency and integrity.
    And sometimes what seems obvious is maybe not the best course, and we're
    reviewing what our options are. That's what it means.
        Q. Isn't self-determination the ultimate human right?
        President Clinton. Well, that depends. That's a very complicated
    question. We fought a civil war over it.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:20 p.m. in the Diplomatic Reception Room
    at the White House. A tape was not available for verification of the
    content of these remarks.