    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [April 7, 1997]
    [Pages 399-401]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Senate Transmitting the Flank Document of the
    Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty With Documentation
    April 7, 1997

    To the Senate of the United States:
        I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate, the
    Document Agreed Among the States Parties to the Treaty on Conventional
    Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) of November 19, 1990, which was adopted at
    Vienna on May 31, 1996 (``the Flank Document''). The Flank Document is
    Annex A of the Final Document of the first CFE Review Conference.
        I transmit also, for the information of the Senate, the report of
    the Department of State on the Flank Document, together with a section-
    by-section analysis of the Flank Document and three documents associated
    with it that are relevant to the Senate's consideration: the
    Understanding on Details of the Flank Document of 31 May 1996 in Order
    to Facilitate its Implementation; the Exchange of Letters between the

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    U.S. Chief Delegate to the CFE Joint Consultative Group and the Head of
    the Delegation of the Russian Federation to the Joint Consultative
    Group, dated 25 July 1996; and, the Extension of Provisional Application
    of the Document until May 15, 1997. I take this step as a matter of
    accommodation to the desires of the Senate and without prejudice to the
    allocation of rights and duties under the Constitution.
        In transmitting the original CFE Treaty to the Senate in 1991,
    President Bush said that the CFE Treaty was ``the most ambitious arms
    control agreement ever concluded.'' This landmark treaty has been a
    source of stability, predictability, and confidence during a period of
    historic change in Europe. In the years since the CFE Treaty was signed,
    the Soviet Union has dissolved, the Warsaw Pact has disappeared, and the
    North Atlantic Alliance has been transformed. The treaty has not been
    unaffected by these changes--for example, there are 30 CFE States
    Parties now, not 22--but the dedication of all Treaty partners to
    achieving its full promise is undiminished.
        The CFE Treaty has resulted in the verified reduction of more than
    50,000 pieces of heavy military equipment, including tanks, armored
    combat vehicles, artillery pieces, combat aircraft, and attack
    helicopters. By the end of 1996, CFE states had accepted and conducted
    more than 2,700 intrusive, on-site inspections. Contacts between the
    military organizations charged with implementing CFE are cooperative and
    extensive. The CFE Treaty has helped to transform a world of two armed
    camps into a Europe where dividing lines no longer hold.
        The Flank Document is part of that process. It is the culmination of
    over 2 years of negotiations and months of intensive discussions with
    the Russian Federation, Ukraine, our NATO Allies, and our other CFE
    Treaty partners. The Flank Document resolves in a cooperative way the
    most difficult problem that arose during the Treaty's first 5 years of
    implementation: Russian and Ukrainian concerns about the impact of the
    Treaty's equipment limits in the flank zone on their security and
    military flexibility. The other Treaty states--including all NATO
    Allies--agreed that some of those concerns were reasonable and ought to
    be addressed.
        The Flank Document is the result of a painstaking multilateral
    diplomatic effort that had as its main goal the preservation of the
    integrity of the CFE Treaty and achievement of the goals of its mandate.
    It is a crucial step in adaptation of the CFE Treaty to the dramatic
    political changes that have occurred in Europe since the Treaty was
    signed. The Flank Document confirms the importance of subregional
    constraints on heavy military equipment. More specifically, it
    revalidates the idea, unique to CFE, of limits on the amount of
    equipment particular nations in the Treaty area can locate on certain
    portions of their own national territory. Timely entry into force of the
    Flank Document will ensure that these key principles are not a matter of
    debate in the negotiations we have just begun in Vienna to adapt the CFE
    Treaty to new political realities, including the prospect of an enlarged
    NATO.
        I believe that entry into force of the CFE Flank Document is in the
    best interests of the United States and will contribute to our broader
    efforts to establish a new European security order based on cooperation
    and shared goals. By maintaining the integrity of the CFE flank regime,
    we take a key step toward our goal of ensuring that the CFE Treaty
    continues to play a key role in enhancing military stability into the
    21st century. Therefore, I urge the Senate to give early and favorable
    consideration to the Flank Document and to give advice and consent prior
    to May 15, 1997.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    April 7, 1997.

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