    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [January 16, 1998]
    [Pages 68-71]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Signing Ceremony for the Baltic Nations-United States
    Charter of Partnership
    January 16, 1998

        The President. President Meri; President
    Brazauskas; President Ulmanis; members of the Estonian, Lithuanian, and Latvian
    delegations; Secretary Albright; Mr.
    Berger; Members of Congress; Senator
    Dole; Mr. Brzezinski; and all friends of the Baltic nations who are here.
        The Vice President and I and our
    administration were honored to welcome President Meri, President
    Brazauskas, and President Ulmanis to Washington to reaffirm our common
    vision of a Europe whole and free, where Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia
    play their full and rightful roles, and to sign a charter of partnership
    to build that Europe together.
        To the three Presidents, let me say thank you. Thank you for the key
    role you have played

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    in making this moment possible, holding to the difficult path of
    political and economic reform, leading Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
    back to the community of free nations where they belong. This charter of
    partnership underscores how far your nations have come. Almost exactly 7
    years ago today, Baltic citizens were facing down tanks in the struggle
    to reclaim their independence. Today, your democracies have taken root.
    You stand among Europe's fastest growing economies. Your nations are a
    source of stability within your region and beyond, through the
    Partnership For Peace, the Baltic Peacekeeping Battalion, and your
    contributions in Bosnia.
        America has been proud to support this progress through our SEED
    assistance program, more than 500 Peace Corps volunteers, and in many
    other ways. We share a stake in your success. And with this charter, we
    set out a framework to achieve our common goals. It affirms our
    commitment to promoting harmony and human dignity within our societies;
    it stresses our interest in close cooperation among the Baltic States
    and with all their neighbors; it launches new working groups on economic
    development to spur greater trade, investment, and growth, complementing
    the efforts of our European friends; and it furthers America's
    commitment to help Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia to deepen their
    integration and prepare for membership in the European Union and NATO.
        Of course, there can be no guarantees of admission to the alliance.
    Only NATO's leaders, operating by consensus, can offer membership to an
    aspiring state. But America's security is tied to Europe, and Europe
    will never be fully secure if Baltic security is in doubt. NATO's door
    is and will remain open to every partner nation, and America is
    determined to create the conditions under which Estonia, Lithuania, and
    Latvia can one day walk through that door.
        The hopes that fuel the goals of this charter must be matched by our
    will to achieve them. That's why we're forming a new partnership
    commission which Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott will chair. I'm pleased to report that the charter is
    making a difference already. Yesterday our nations signed treaties to
    eliminate double taxation, which will encourage American business to
    play an even greater role in Baltic prosperity. We're also expanding our
    common efforts to combat organized crime with better information-sharing
    and more joint operations.
        And this year the United States, in a unique public/private
    partnership with the Soros Open Society Institute, will be creating a
    Baltic-American partnership fund to promote the development of civic
    organizations. Nothing is more crucial to democracy's success than a
    vibrant network of local groups committed to their communities and their
    nation. I want to thank George Soros for his
    visionary generosity.
        I also want to say a special thanks to the Baltic-American
    communities. For 50 years, Lithuanian-, Latvian-, and Estonian-Americans
    kept alive the dream of Baltic freedom. Now, on the verge of a new
    century, they are working here at home and with their Baltic brothers
    and sisters to make sure the hard-won blessings of liberty will never be
    lost again.
        President Meri, President Brazauskas, President Ulmanis, we recall
    the August day in 1989 when hundreds of thousands of people linked hands
    from Tallinn to Riga to Vilnius, forming a human chain as strong as the
    values for which it stood. Today, that Baltic chain extends across the
    Atlantic Ocean. America's hands and hearts and hopes are joined as one
    with yours. Working together, we can build a new Europe of democracy,
    prosperity, and peace, where security is the province of every nation
    and the future belongs to the free.
        Thank you very much.
        President Guntis Ulmanis of Latvia. Dear
    President, ladies and gentlemen, today is a happy day as we are signing
    the U.S.A.-Baltic charter. This charter will serve as a key for the next
    century. It makes us allies. Our signatures write the strategic
    philosophy for the next century. They mark strong Atlanticism and also
    the formation of a new Europe. The Baltic region is a success story for
    all who shape it by their everyday work.
        I call on President Clinton and his administration to get actively
    involved in the formation of its future. The symbolic meaning of the
    charter has been expressed in its first words, which speak about our
    common vision of the future. It has been created by people of our
    countries in continuous work by mutual enrichment. I am proud of my
    people and its strengths. I am proud of my friends who I am happy to
    welcome here.
        Thank you.

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        President Algirdas Brazauskas of
    Lithuania. Dear Presidents, ladies and gentlemen, today we are signing
    the particularly important document with the United States of America,
    with which we not only share common values but are also linked by a
    number of American Lithuanians who have found home in the United States.
    The charter of partnership establishes the institutional framework that
    promotes the furtherance of bilateral and multilateral cooperation,
    reciprocal support to the Euro-Atlantic integration, and common efforts
    designed for the consolidation of security, prosperity, and stability
    within the region and Euro-Atlantic area as the whole.
        The U.S.-Baltic charter confirms repeatedly that Lithuania is a
    serious candidate for accession to NATO, as well as that the United
    States support the Baltic States' aspirations and their efforts to
    become members of the alliance.
        Lithuania values the charter first and foremost as the commitment to
    its further role as the promoter of stability within our region and
    Europe as a whole, its commitment to progress, economic reforms, and
    further enhancement of defense system effectiveness and interoperability
    with the North Atlantic alliance. We appreciate and are supportive of
    President Clinton's and the U.S. role of leadership in opening up to
    Central European democracies the doors to history's most successful
    alliance. It is our hope that this openness to new members will enhance
    the security and stability for all the present and aspiring members, as
    well as other European nations.
        Thank you.
        President Lennart Meri of Estonia. Mr.
    President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, today is an historic day
    in the history of our four nations. With the signing of the charter of
    partnership among the United States of America and the Republic of
    Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, and the Republic of Lithuania, we enter
    a new phase of even closer United States-Baltic relations.
        Seventy-five years ago last summer, the United States and Estonia--
    [inaudible]--diplomatic relations, thus launching a special relationship
    based in mutual respect and trust. There is an old saying that one
    recognizes a true friend in times of need. With its bipartisan support
    for nonrecognition policy, America was a true friend of the Baltics in a
    time of need, acting as a beacon of hope throughout the long, dark, and
    cold years of the Soviet occupation.
        You, Mr. President, were a true friend when, 4 years ago, you
    personally contributed to making sure that occupation would end and the
    foreign troops were withdrawn. This principled behavior is one quality
    of United States foreign policy that we greatly admire. The fact that
    morals play a major role in Americans' foreign policy is what defines
    the United States as the world's remaining superpower.
        Estonia sees the United States-Baltic charter as the latest
    expression of that principled approach. The charter recognizes the
    Baltic States' role in the American strategy to guarantee security and
    stability on the European Continent, and spells out that the United
    States has a real, profound, and enduring interest in the security and
    sovereignty of the Baltic States.
        An important element in our security strategy is eventual full
    membership in NATO. We believe that NATO continues to be the sole
    guarantor of security and stability in Europe. Estonia applauds
    President Clinton for his leadership in starting the process of NATO
    enlargement which has already redefined the terms of security policy in
    Europe.
        Estonia also understands that NATO enlargement through the Baltics
    will be the next big project of the alliance. We believe that the
    question of Baltic membership in NATO will become the real test of post-
    Madrid security thinking--that is, that countries shall be able to
    choose their security arrangements regardless of geography. We are
    confident that, with American leadership, this test will be met with
    success.
        Thank you.
        The President. I thank you all. We are now going to sign our
    charter. Before we do, I just want to say again how much I appreciate
    all of our guests coming here, all from the three nations, their
    American counterparts. And thank you, Senator Durbin, Congresswoman Pelosi, Congressman
    Shimkus, Congressman Kucinich. Thank you, Senator Dole and Mr.
    Brzezinski.
        And I'd also like to point out--I didn't earlier--we have a very
    large, unusually large, representation from the diplomatic corps here,
    which is a tribute to the importance of this moment, that the rest of
    the world community attaches to it. And I thank all the ambassadors who
    are here. Thank you all very much for your presence.

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    Note: The President spoke at 2:45 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to former Senator Bob Dole; former
    National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski; and philanthropist George
    Soros, chairman, Soros Fund Management, LCC. He also referred to the
    Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Program.