    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [May 6, 1998]
    [Pages 700-706]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 700]]

    The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Romano Prodi of Italy
    May 6, 1998

        President Clinton. Good afternoon. Please be seated. I have very
    much enjoyed having this opportunity to welcome the Prime Minister to
    Washington again. For more than 50 years Italy has been among our
    closest allies. Today we charted a course to strengthen our cooperation
    for the next 50 years.
        We discussed our common efforts to build an undivided Europe at
    peace. We welcomed the Senate's recent vote on NATO enlargement and hope
    the Italian Parliament will also act favorably soon.
        I thanked the Prime Minister for Italy's contributions in Bosnia and
    more recently in Albania, where Italian troops played a critical role in
    bringing an end to violent unrest. We also discussed our deep concern
    over the situation in Kosovo. The absence of genuine dialog there is
    fueling a conflict that could threaten regional stability. We're working
    urgently to establish unconditional talks that can avert escalating
    violence. But we must and will be ready to substantially turn up the
    pressure on Belgrade should it keep blocking the search for a political
    solution or revert to indiscriminate force.
        I congratulated Prime Minister Prodi on the historic step Italy and
    other EU members took this past weekend on the European Monetary Union.
    I admire the way he has led Italy on a path of fiscal responsibility and
    genuine recovery. I'm confident that a strong Europe with open markets
    and healthy growth is good for America and good for the world.
        We discussed new ideas to reduce the remaining barriers to trade and
    boost prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. I'm pleased that we've
    agreed to begin the next round of talks on an open skies agreement, with
    the goal of concluding an agreement as soon as possible to bring greater
    choice and better service to our tourist and business travelers alike.
        We're also looking forward to the G-8 Summit in Birmingham, where
    we'll take the next steps in preparing our nations for both the
    opportunities and the challenges of the future.
        As to the challenges, from terrorism to drug trafficking, from
    international crime to environmental damage, threats that disregard
    national borders demand international responses. Italy has been at the
    forefront of international efforts to fight crime. It has led in getting
    the G-8 to join forces in combating crime rings that smuggle illegal
    immigrants for sweatshop labor and for prostitution. This will build on
    the work America and Italy have begun together to fight the horrendous
    international crime of trafficking in women and children. Victims are
    lured with promises of jobs, opportunity, and hope, too often to find
    themselves instead in conditions of virtual slavery and actual physical
    danger.
        In Birmingham we'll announce a new joint action plan to crack down
    on crime rings that smuggle immigrants, bring the perpetrators to
    justice, and protect the lives of innocent victims. This is not only
    about public safety, it is about basic human rights.
        The partnership between our two nations is far-reaching. Our
    extensive collaboration in science, technology, and space exploration
    makes that clear. But the friendship is anchored in basic values at the
    core of both our societies: liberty, tolerance, love of family, devotion
    to community and country.
        In closing, let me note that this is the 50th year of the Fulbright
    program between the United States and Italy, a program that has given
    generations of our young people the chance to live with and learn from
    one another. As we celebrate all the ties that bind us, we are looking
    ahead to the next 50 years, to an even stronger and more vibrant
    partnership which will shape a brighter future for all our people.
        Mr. Prime Minister.
        Prime Minister Prodi. Thank you. Very few comments to add to your
    speech.
        I enjoyed so much to exchange our views in what I can call the magic
    moment of American-Italian relations. We have no point of disagreement.
    We have--our goal is only to build up a stronger relation and to bring
    them into the future.
        In a moment that is very favorable that we did in the last weekend,
    we concluded one of the most important achievements, never seen in world
    history, to put 11 different currencies

    [[Page 701]]

    together. And this will bring, I'm sure--this is my firm opinion--a new
    period of strong growth, very similar to the period that you did in your
    country, President. And it's very rare to see 8 years of continuous
    growth without inflation, with decreasing unemployment, as you did in
    your country, and to think that the euro may give us the same
    possibility for Europe. But Europe needs a renewed set of relations
    between Europe and the United States because this new event needs a new
    organization of our relations.
        So I am very favorable to the proposal of transatlantic--a new set
    of economic and political relations. To this new set, we shall start to
    work immediately and with a realistic program and with a long-range
    view.
        Second, we analyzed our bilateral relations, and this was the
    easiest chapter because there are no fundamental problems of dissent.
    But we also analyzed the hot point of the regional difficulties in the
    Balkan and Mediterranean area. In this, we have not only to act together
    but to have the continuous fine-tuning of our action. Kosovo is a source
    of worry for us. But Bosnia is still there, with all the problems and
    with these long-term solutions that, briefly, you have indicated that we
    are executing together.
        But another point that we analyzed is the Mediterranean area, not
    only the Middle East--that is, of course, the object of our attention--
    but the pivotal problem of Turkey, the Greece-Turkish relation, Cyprus,
    and all of that--in the end, the enlargement of the European Union to
    the east and the consequence that this enlargement will bring in world
    politics.
        This has been the agenda. And I'm so happy that we could discuss
    this not only in deed but with a strong, strong common commitment.
        President Clinton. Thank you.
        Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated Press], would you like to go first?
    We will alternate. I will call on an American journalist; the Prime
    Minister will call on Italian journalists. We'll just go back and forth.

    Court Decision on Executive Privilege

        Q. Mr. President, while the matter remains under seal, lawyers
    familiar with the case say that a Federal judge has denied your
    assertion of executive privilege in the Monica Lewinsky investigation.
    Do you intend to appeal that decision? And what's the difference between
    your case and Richard Nixon's effort to stop the Watergate
    investigation?
        President Clinton. Well, first of all, as you pointed out, the
    matter is still under seal. And as I've said in all these cases, at
    least one party in every case should follow the judge's orders,
    preferably--it's better if both do. So I can't comment on it. But let me
    remind you, I have asked for the release of the briefs and the pleadings
    in the case so that you and the American people can evaluate my position
    and any differences that exist between that which we have asserted in
    previous assertions of executive privilege. I would also remind you that
    the facts are quite different in this case.
        Q. How so, sir?

    Europe-U.S. Relations

        Q. Mr. President, would you consider the four European countries
    part of the G-7 as the more natural counterpart to the U.S., even more
    so now that there is a European Central Bank--not a central political
    authority in Europe? And do you subscribe to the work of President Prodi
    for the launching of a new transatlantic negotiation for a new
    marketplace?
        And for Mr. Prodi, the French President is resisting the idea of
    transatlantic negotiations. Will you take a leadership with that against
    his position?
        President Clinton. Well, the answer to your second question to me,
    would I support the launching of new negotiations to broaden our
    partnership, the answer to that is yes.
        I think the proper answer to your first question is that from the
    day I took office, I have supported increasing unity within Europe and
    any specific step that the Europeans might decide for themselves to
    take, including a common currency. And what I want is a strong, united
    Europe that is our partner in dealing with the challenges and in seizing
    the opportunities of the 21st century world. That's what I look forward
    to. I think that is one of the legacies I would like to leave when I
    leave office in 2001. So for me, this is a positive step, these things
    which are happening now.
        Q. I'm sorry, on the G-7 though, Mr. President, I mean, there is no
    counterpart to the European Central Bank----
        President Clinton. Well, on the G-7 we all--in the G-7, we operate
    by consensus, so it's not like--we do everything together anyway.

    [[Page 702]]

        Prime Minister Prodi. On my side, it's true that the French oppose
    it at the present time, the negotiation. But they didn't oppose the
    general idea. They opposed the specific proposal, and we decided to go
    on. We decided that we must make a very concrete, step-by-step approach.
    We have a lot of things that we can deal with unanimity now, but we have
    decided that this is one of the most important issues, not because of
    Far East crisis but because of the future of humanity. We think that the
    relations between Europe and the United States are still the foundation
    of the world peace. This is what we told, and so we will have to
    accompany them with increasing economic and political relations.
        From the point of view of the transatlantic negotiation, we shall
    find concrete steps to start immediately for the negotiation. I can't
    take the initiative alone, because I am part of the European Union, but
    I am happy to start this type of pressure in order to convince all my
    colleagues to have a quick starting of this negotiation.
        I want to express also my gratitude--I already have done in another
    interview--to President Clinton, to the American people, for the
    attitude they had during this process of monetary union. It's completely
    infrequent to be so clear, so transparent, not to put any obstacle, any
    suspicion in this--such a big change--it will be a change also for
    American policy. This is enormous change in the world economy. And this
    is, I think, the real meaning of what is a long-term friendship.
        President Clinton. Lori [Lori Santos, United Press International].

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Sir, Israel's Prime Minister says he won't accept U.S. dictates
    in the Middle East peace process. What will you do if Israel rebuffs the
    U.S. proposal for a 13 percent withdrawal?
        President Clinton. Well, I don't believe Israel or any other country
    should accept the dictates of the United States in a peace process. We
    cannot and we should not attempt to impose a peace on parties because
    they have to live with the consequences. What we have tried to do for a
    good year now is to listen to both parties, look at the situation on the
    ground, understand their respective concerns, and come forward with a
    set of ideas that we believe are most likely to get the parties to final
    status talks.
        Keep in mind, they're supposed to finish these talks a year from
    this month, by their own agreement. Now, the ideas we put forth, as
    Secretary Albright said, were accepted in principle by Mr.
    Arafat. The Prime Minister said he was unable to do so, but he asked that he be
    permitted to go home--not permitted but that he be given time to go home
    and talk through with his Cabinet what might be an acceptable position,
    bring it back to us, and see if we could bring the parties together.
    That is what we are trying to do.
        And keep in mind what we are trying to do. We are not talking about
    here a final settlement of all the outstanding issues between Israel and
    the Palestinians. We are talking about a settlement of sufficient number
    of issues that will permit them to get into the final status talks
    within the framework embodied by the agreement signed here in September
    of '93.
        And the first person to advocate a more rapid movement to the final
    status was Prime Minister Netanyahu. I
    have tried to find a way actually to do what he suggested. He said,
    ``The facts have changed. The Government is different. Things are
    different than they used to be. Let's go on and go to final status talks
    and try to resolve all this at once in a package.'' I thought it made a
    lot of sense at the time, and I have done my best for a year now to find
    the formula that would unlock the differences between them to get them
    into those final status talks. That's all I'm trying to do. There's no
    way in the world I could impose an agreement on them or dictate their
    security to them, even if I wished to do that, which I don't, because
    when the agreement is over, whether it's in the Middle East or Ireland
    or Bosnia or anyplace else, they have to live with the consequences.
        Q. Will you go Monday, if it's not--[inaudible]?
        President Clinton. Well, I expect to do--first of all, we are
    working--let's wait and see what, if anything, Prime Minister
    Netanyahu comes back with. Let's wait and
    see, and then see where we are. I hope very much--I would like very much
    if we could get the parties together so they could get into the final
    status talks. I do believe if they could get over this hurdle, if they
    could demonstrate good faith to one another, and then they got in the
    final status talks and everything were on the table, all the outstanding
    pieces, then I think that give-and-take

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    would be more likely to produce a final agreement.
        So I'm very anxious to get them over this hill, so they can get into
    discussing the final arrangements. That's one thing I thought Prime
    Minister Netanyahu was right about, but I
    hope that both sides will help us get there. That's what we're trying to
    do.

    Italy's Role in the United Nations

        Q. President Clinton, you have been praising Italy as a faithful
    ally of the United States. Now Italy is also a major contributor of the
    United Nations. Do you think that your Government would support a reform
    of the U.N. Security Council which would give Italy a bigger role?
        President Clinton. Well, we would support an expansion of the
    Security Council with the membership still to be determined. I don't
    think we can dictate it all. And we would support other efforts to give
    Italy a larger role, generally. First of all, let me say that as long as
    I have been President, for 5 years, the Italians have been as
    forthcoming as any country in being willing to make contributions to
    solving our common problems, whether it's in Bosnia or the Former
    Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or now in Albania, where you took the
    initiative. And all we had to do, if you will, was to sit on the
    sidelines and cheer you on and try to be supportive.
        Then, in the government of Prime Minister Prodi, we see a remarkable
    strength and cohesion and singularity of purpose, which has led to a
    marked improvement in your economic situation, early entry into the
    European Monetary Union. So I think the prospects for greater roles of
    leadership for Italy in many, many different forums are quite good. And
    I would support that. I think that Italy can justifiably say, ``We
    should be a part of more and more of these decisionmaking bodies because
    we're making a bigger contribution.'' And in general, I think that's a
    positive thing.
        Randy [Randy Mikkelsen, Reuters], you have a question?

    U.S. Forces in the Persian Gulf

        Q. Mr. President, there are reports today that the United States has
    cut the level--cut its aircraft carriers in the Gulf from two to one.
    What does that say about the level of threat in the region and the state
    of U.S. relations with Iraq? And what can you say about reports that
    morale among U.S. troops there is at an all-time low?
        President Clinton. Well, we have sent--the Eisenhower is sailing on
    schedule, as you probably know. And there's been some speculation about
    the timetable there, but I can tell you that I have not--Secretary
    Cohen has not recommended a final decision
    to me on this, and I have certainly not made one, and we've done our
    best to keep all of our options open.
        The main thing I want to reaffirm is our determination to see the
    United Nations resolutions complied with and the inspection regime
    continue until it finishes its work. But no final decision has been made
    on that yet.
        Q. And the morale issue, sir?
        President Clinton. I can't really comment on that. I think you
    should talk to Secretary Cohen about that
    to see if he agrees with the assessment of it.
        But one of the things that we recognize is that as we ask more and
    more and more of our men and women in uniform and they have longer
    deployments, we're going to have to work harder to make sure they get
    adequate support and their families back home get adequate support in
    order to keep morale high. I can't comment on the specific assertion
    because I'm not sure that it's so. But I am sure that our men and women
    in uniform, because we have so many responsibilities in so many parts of
    the globe, are called upon to do quite a lot and be away from home base
    for extended periods of time. And that puts a bigger responsibility on
    those of us who make these decisions, beginning with me, to do
    everything we can to give them the support they need and to make sure
    their families are taken care of.

    U.S. Aircraft Incident in the Italian Alps

        Q. Prime Minister Prodi, are you satisfied with the way the American
    authorities are dealing with the accident in the Italian Alps?
        Prime Minister Prodi. Since the first moment when I called
    personally President Clinton, I found a very warm and prompt response to
    the problem. And I have to thank Ambassador Foglietta, who is here,
    who--he understood immediately how big was our sorrow, how deep was our
    regret. And the following evolution of the problem--they've always kept
    with a daily communication between the American Government and the
    Italian authorities. So I am waiting for the future development of the
    case, but I've

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    seen a deep involvement of the American political authorities.
        President Clinton. I'd like to just make a brief comment about that.
    This was a horrible human tragedy. I can't even describe how I felt the
    first moment I heard about it, and----
        Prime Minister Prodi. I do remember your call.
        President Clinton. My regret is profound. Since that time, we have
    done everything we could both to cooperate with the Italian Government
    in the investigation into the case and to handle the disposition of the
    charges, as well as the treatment of the families of the victims, in
    accordance with the agreements signed between our two countries and to
    be as faithful to it as we could. And we will continue to do that.
        I regret terribly what happened. And I cannot bring back the people
    who perished, but I will do my best to make sure that we behave in a
    completely honorable way, in a way that is completely consistent with
    the commitments we have made.
        Stewart [Stewart Powell, Hearst Newspapers].

    Cuba

        Q. Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to ask you about Cuba for a
    moment.
        President Clinton. Go ahead, I'm sorry.
        Q. Your former Atlantic Commander, Jack Sheehan, came back from a
    visit to Cuba--he spent a week there, spent 8 hours with Fidel Castro
    and returned with--seeing opportunities for some rapprochement with
    Castro. I wonder if you're now willing to undertake some steps to ease
    the embargo or take additional steps to provide humanitarian relief in
    Cuba, and secondly, whether you're willing to undertake any steps to
    dismantle or ease the defense perimeter around Guantanamo Bay as a
    symbolic gesture toward Cuba at this moment?
        President Clinton. Well, in the aftermath of the Pope's visit to Cuba, I did take some steps which I hope
    would send the right signal to the Cuban people--[inaudible]--in the
    hopes that it would help to support a move toward a civil society there.
    As you know, what further steps I could take are clearly circumscribed
    by the passage of the Helms-Burton Act. And furthermore, there have been
    mixed signals coming out of the actions of the Government in Cuba since
    then about whether they really wish to have a rapprochement that is more
    than government to government and maybe trade to trade but also includes
    what our real concern is.
        Our real concern is for the people of Cuba: Can we move the society
    toward freedom and human rights and a democratic system? These things
    don't have to be done overnight, but then again, they have to be done.
    There has to be some clear signal.
        I understand the desire of the Cuban Government to keep its health
    care system, to keep its commitment to universal literacy to even its
    poorest citizens. That's a commendable and laudable thing. But I do not
    accept, nor can I ever accept, some of the antidemocratic and, frankly,
    clearly anti-human-rights policies of the Government. So we have to have
    some basis for doing more, especially given the constrictions of the
    law. Now, nothing would make me happier than to see some basis for doing
    more. I think all Americans would like to be reconciled with Cuba
    because of our ties of blood in this country and because of its
    proximity to us.

    Capital Punishment

        Q. Mr. President, you have spoken of the common values that unify
    our two countries, but there is one big issue that is opening an ever-
    widening gap between the two countries, and it has a lot to do with
    values, and it is the issue of the death penalty. And I was wondering,
    because this issue is seen with tremendous sensitivity in our country,
    if you could give us a sense of what your personal feelings are on this
    issue. And I hope Mr. Prodi might want to add his own comment.
        President Clinton. Well, first of all, I do not believe that our
    different views on the death penalty should drive a wedge between our
    two countries, since that is a matter of essentially domestic, not
    foreign, policy and since in our country criminal defendants are given
    extensive procedural protections to avoid abuse as well as extensive
    rights of appeal.
        I support capital punishment under certain circumstances. The law in
    our country is that for most cases involving murder, it is up to the
    States of our Republic to decide whether to have the death penalty. Some
    States do have the death penalty, and some States don't. It is a
    question of State law. There are a few crimes on the Federal books for
    which capital punishment can occur. But it's, by and large, most of the
    cases--the great majority of the cases are matters of local law, State
    law in our

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    country. And unless the Supreme Court were to reach a contrary decision
    and invalidate all death penalty laws, which it has explicitly refused
    to do, under our Constitution it would remain that way.
        Prime Minister Prodi. From my point of view, I belong to a country
    which the death penalty has been abolished since a long time. It is in
    the roots of our tradition, of our values, of our society not to have
    it, and I stick on it.
        President Clinton. Wolf [Wolf Blitzer, CNN].

    Hubbell and
    McDougal Indictments

        Q. Thank you, Mr. President--Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. President. Mr.
    President, since your last news conference, Ken Starr has indicted
    Webster Hubbell and Susan McDougal once again. And at the same time
    Congressman Dan Burton has released all these prison tapes involving
    Webster Hubbell and his wife and his lawyer and others. I wonder how you
    would assess all of this in light of the problems that you and your
    supporters are facing as this investigation into the Monica Lewinsky
    matter continues to escalate and perhaps reach some sort of conclusion
    sooner rather than later. Obviously your thoughts on all of this would
    be interesting to all of us. [Laughter]
        President Clinton. Well, I think it was clearly a violation of
    privacy of Mr. and Mrs. Hubbell for the tapes to be released. And I
    think virtually everyone in America now recognizes it was wrong to
    release selected portions of the tapes, apparently to create a false
    impression of what the whole record indicated.
        On the other matters you mentioned, the parties have spoken for
    themselves about what they think was behind it, and I can't really add
    anything to that.

    Kosovo

        Q. Mr. President, did you discuss the eventuality to send troops to
    Kosovo?
        And to Mr. Prodi, is our country available to send troops to Kosovo?
        President Clinton. I suppose the literally accurate answer to your
    question is we did not discuss that. But I have made it clear, and I
    believe we have made it clear between us, that, at least from my point
    of view, no option should be ruled out. We do not want another Bosnia in
    Kosovo. Too many people have died there already in indiscriminate
    violence. And of course, it happened very quickly. Neither, however, do
    we want to get in the position where Italy has to send troops to every
    one of its neighboring countries and the United States has to send
    troops every time there's a dispute in that part of the world.
        But I don't think we can rule out any option, because we don't want
    another Bosnia to happen, and we don't want--both in terms of the human
    loss of life or in terms of the regional instability. So I wouldn't rule
    out any option. But I think the most important thing is to keep the
    carrots and the sticks we have on the table and for a genuine dialog to
    occur.
        Look, this is not--we have a saying in America sometimes--this is
    not rocket science. You've got a part of Serbia which is 90 percent
    Albanian, and they want some kind of autonomy and to have their
    legitimate concerns addressed. The Serbs don't want to give up a big
    part of their country which they believe and is legally part of their
    country. So they obviously need to sit down and talk through how the
    legitimate aspirations of the Kosovo Albanians can somehow be manifest
    in giving them some measure of self-government and decisionmaking
    authority over their lives within the framework of Serbia. There are 50
    different ways this could be worked out in a humane, legitimate way.
    They do not have to kill each other to get this done, and they should
    not do that.
        Prime Minister Prodi. I completely agree, but probably the question
    was not put in the right way. The problem is not to send troops in the
    general way, but there is the problem of how to protect the border in
    order to avoid in the short term the problem of smuggling weapons from
    one side to the other one. Even this option is dangerous because, in
    some ways, whenever you send troops, you send hostages, potential
    hostages, to the situation.
        But as President Clinton told, we didn't rule out any solution. We
    are just making an effort to arrive to a peaceful solution. And also we
    had a long conversation concerning the possibility of helping the
    civilian recovery of Kosovo in this difficult situation, in which Kosovo
    has been abandoned in some ways. But of course, you can't rule out
    anything now.
        President Clinton. Thank you all.

    Note: The President's 158th news conference began at 1:50 p.m. in Room
    450 of the Old Executive Office Building. During the news conference,
    the following persons were referred to: President

    [[Page 706]]

    Jacques Chirac of France; Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian
    Authority; Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel; Thomas M.
    Foglietta, U.S. Ambassador to Italy; Gen. John J. Sheehan, USMC (Ret.),
    former commander in chief, U.S. Atlantic Command; President Fidel Castro
    of Cuba; and former Associate Attorney General Webster L. Hubbell, and
    his wife, Suzanna, Deputy Director of External Affairs, Department of
    the Interior.