[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.