    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [March 31, 1999]
    [Page 475]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty
    March 31, 1999

        I am very pleased that yesterday negotiators from the 30 countries
    that are party to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
    (CFE) reached an agreement setting the stage for a final adapted treaty.
    All countries agreed to deeper limits on their conventional forces and
    stronger measures to ensure compliance. The decision preserves NATO's
    ability to fulfill its post-cold-war missions, to ensure its new members
    are full military partners, and to deepen its engagement with
    Partnership For Peace states. It also takes into account the interests
    of non-NATO states and helps fulfill the commitment President
    Yeltsin and I made last September to conclude
    a final adapted treaty by the OSCE summit this year.
        At a time when we are trying to end a pattern of escalating
    insecurity, brutality, and armed conflict in the Balkans, I am gratified
    that these 30 countries, comprising the vast majority of European
    nations, are moving in a different direction. Together, we are building
    a Europe in which armies prepare to stand beside their neighbors, not
    against them, and security depends on cooperation, not competition.