    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [June 17, 1999]
    [Pages 951-956]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With President Jacques Chirac of France in Paris
    June 17, 1999

        President Chirac. We wanted to have the Sun shine for President
    Clinton's visit, and I would like to welcome him most warmly for the
    meeting this year, in the framework of frequent contact and very
    pleasant contacts--always very pleasant contacts--whether it's over the
    phone or whether it's a friendly meeting such as today's. And I'm very
    pleased that President and Mrs. Clinton were able to take some time to
    come through Paris on the occasion of the President's trip to Cologne
    for the G-7/G-8.
        Yesterday evening we had a very pleasant dinner. I can't say that we
    worked a great deal yesterday evening, to tell you the truth. But
    however, we did spend time which personally I very much enjoyed. So a
    bit yesterday evening and much more this morning, we first of all drew
    the lessons from the crisis in Kosovo, and we noted that our victory in
    Kosovo will be a complete victory only once all refugees have been able
    to come back to their homes and when all the communities living in
    Kosovo are able to live in safety, namely, thanks to the vigilance of
    the military security force which is at present deploying in the region.
        We also discussed a number of other problems: the European defense
    system, in particular, concerning recent events which have occurred in
    the Balkans, but also following positions taken at the Washington
    summit; the relaunching of the peace process in the Middle East, such as
    we very much hope for following the forthcoming appointment of the
    government of Israel, and the role which Europe and France might play
    and the help we might contribute to those efforts made to ensure an
    effective launching of the peace process.
        We also considered various problems on the agenda of our Cologne
    meeting, summit: the very important initiatives that we're taking on the
    eve of the next century concerning the debt owed by poor countries; the
    reinforcement and adjustment of the international financial system; the
    social dimension, which you know I'm very deeply attached to, of
    globalization and the consequence to be drawn from this.
        And I also suggested to President Clinton that the G-8 Summit
    consider the possibility of taking initiative in an area which is of
    great concern, namely to Europeans at present, and which is that of food
    security, safety of foodstuffs. Our people are increasingly concerned,
    worried, and I would like to suggest that the setting up of a global
    higher scientific council for food safety. I shan't go into the details,
    but I have proposed this to the heads of state/government of the G-8,
    and I shall have an opportunity to develop this point in Cologne. But my
    wish is to have this considered by heads of state and government of the
    G-8, and that we see whether it might be possible to find a solution
    able to better guarantee the health of Europeans--of all of the
    inhabitants of the world, of course.
        And before giving the floor to President Clinton, I should like to
    say in concluding how very much I welcome the very good quality of
    Franco-American relations. Everybody knows, and it's obvious,
    occasionally we have differences of views. But we know how to deal with
    them, and have done so for some time, and to resolve

    [[Page 952]]

    these differences in a spirit of friendship between partners who respect
    each other. And it is probably a fact which is based on a very long,
    very long, century-old friendship between our two peoples and our two
    countries.
        Bill, you have the floor.
        President Clinton. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I will be
    brief. President Chirac has given you a good summary of the things that
    we discussed today.
        I would like to thank him again, publicly, for the wonderful dinner
    that he and Mrs. Chirac gave to
    Hillary and to me last night. We had
    a terrific time. We did not discuss a lot of business. We mostly
    discussed archaeology and endangered species around the world. But we
    had a wonderful dinner.
        Let me say a few words about Kosovo. As of today, 26,000 Serb
    soldiers have left Kosovo; 15,000 of our KFOR forces have arrived. The
    refugees are coming home, indeed, in many cases, faster than we think
    safe because of the landmines, which we are working hard to remove. But
    they want to go home.
        It has been very moving to me to see the troops of all of our
    nations cheered by the people there; also moving to see our soldiers
    uncovering evidence of what we stood against, evidence of mass graves,
    evidence in the form of the piles of documents stripped from the
    refugees to erase their identities.
        I'd like to pay particular tribute to President Chirac for his
    leadership and his firmness in this crisis. This was the longest
    operation in which NATO had engaged in 50 years. We had 19 countries
    representing hundreds of millions of people with all manner of different
    domestic situations. But we stayed together, and we will stay together,
    and we will continue our mission there until we succeed.
        But the French President was especially adamant that, having begun,
    we had to stay until we won, and we had to do it in the right way and to
    do whatever it took to do that. And I am very grateful to him for the
    relationship that we have enjoyed personally and for the relationship
    that our countries have enjoyed and the solidarity we've had within
    NATO.
        Now we have to finish the job. We have to help the Kosovars to
    restore their homes and the basic conditions of living, the institutions
    of civil society necessary for them to exercise autonomy. We also have
    to help the region. We have made a commitment at the NATO Summit, which
    I know will be reaffirmed at the G-7/G-8 meeting and which the EU has
    already articulated, to try to build a different future, a more
    prosperous, more democratic future for the entire region. And we are all
    committed to doing that. If we don't want the Balkans and southeastern
    Europe to be torn apart in the future by ancient religious and ethnic
    hatreds, we have to give them a better tomorrow to work for. And we are
    strongly committed to that.
        Now, we also discussed any number of other subjects, but I think it
    would be better for me to open the floor to questions. I would close by
    saying I was particularly moved by the discussion we had about the
    Middle East peace process. Hopes are high now, but we all know that we
    have to give the Prime Minister-elect the
    opportunity to put his government together and get off to a good start.
    But the reports we have about a broad-based coalition are quite
    encouraging, and I think it's fair to say that France and all of Europe,
    the United States hope that we can play a constructive role in what we
    hope will be a productive next step in that.

    NATO-Russia Negotiations on Kosovo

        Q. President Clinton, what is the latest from the Russians? There is
    a report----
        President Clinton. Go ahead, Sam [Sam Donaldson, ABC News].
        Q. President Clinton, what's the latest on the Russians, sir?
    There's a report that they may have agreed on the command structure
    acceptable to NATO but are still insisting on something like a zone.
    What can you tell us?
        President Clinton. Well, I can tell you that just before I came over
    here for my meeting with President Chirac, I got an update. You know
    that Secretary Cohen has been meeting with
    the Russian Defense Minister, Sergeyev. You
    know that Secretary Albright left here
    and flew to Helsinki to meet with Foreign Minister Ivanov. And the atmosphere is pretty positive and pretty
    hopeful. President Chirac and I talked about it for a long time.
        We want the Russians to be involved in this mission in a
    comprehensive way. We think it is important. But we also think it is
    important that we maintain clear unity of command, under KFOR, according
    to the U.N. resolution. And they're working through that, and I hope and
    believe they will reach a successful conclusion.

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        I don't have any specific details for you because they're in the
    middle of trying to work this out. But I know that--I'm aware that there
    are two or three options they're working on, all of which would be
    acceptable to us and to our partners, including the French. So we're
    working on it.

    Reconstruction of the Balkans

        Q. In the reconstruction of Yugoslavia, do you take into
    consideration the only full member state of the NATO having a direct
    border with Yugoslavia, Hungary, that applied many times for being the
    center and headquarters of the reconstruction?

    [At this point, another question was asked in French, and a translation
    was not provided.]

        President Chirac. The certainty of France is that it is necessary to
    organize as soon as possible in the region a system which is democratic.
    It is by enabling democracy to put down roots that it shall be possible
    to create the conditions for tolerance. And it is tolerance that will
    allow communities that have clashed for a long time to live together at
    peace. It will take time.
        Naturally, there is an objective. The objective is the possibility,
    calling for these countries to become members of the European Union and
    their interest to do so. And therefore, the prospect for France is to do
    our utmost to help the region to overcome the difficulties that presents
    but also to do our utmost to convince them that their future is the
    European Union, and this entails peace at home. And this peace can only
    be found thanks to development and to the enrooting of democracy.
        President Clinton. You asked me a question about whether Hungary
    might be the center of the reconstruction efforts. Actually, I have--as
    you know, the Hungarian President was just in
    Washington for a state visit, and it was a wonderful success. And then I
    called your Prime Minister to thank him for his
    solidarity with NATO during this very difficult period for Hungary.
        Both of them
    expressed a willingness for Hungary to play a role in the reconstruction
    of Kosovo and the entire Balkans region. Both expressed some interest in
    being the center of the reconstruction effort. That decision is a
    decision which would have to be made by all of our allies, and not just
    by the United States, especially given the leading role the European
    Union has played in making commitments to the long-term redevelopment of
    the area.
        But I think that because of Hungary's ties to Serbia, because of the
    large number of Hungarians in northwest Serbia and Vojvodina, I think it
    is very important that the Hungarians be very much involved in this.
        Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated Press].

    War Crimes Trials/Aid to Yugoslavia

        Q. Mr. President, now that the conflict is over, do you and
    President Chirac think that a full-court press should be made to bring
    Slobodan Milosevic to trial to answer for the war crimes indictment? And
    President Chirac, do you agree with President Clinton that there should
    be no reconstruction aid for Belgrade as long as Mr. Milosevic is in
    power?
        President Chirac. Great democracies, in particular, and the
    international community, in general, have, as a rule, to give
    development aid to a country only if the country meets the democratic
    criteria which are usually retained. And there are still some countries,
    unfortunately, which are subject to embargoes, do not receive aid,
    precisely because they are not democratic regimes. And this is the
    reason why. Personally, I absolutely share the feelings of President
    Clinton; that is, that there can be no economic development aid to a
    regime which is not democratic and whose present leader, furthermore,
    has been indicted with crimes against humanity by the international war
    crimes court.
        Development aid is one thing; humanitarian aid is a different thing.
    What we wish to sanction is a regime that does not apply democratic
    rules, obviously; it is not unfortunate Serbs who are also victims.
    Hence, humanitarian aid, yes; development aid, economic aid, no--so long
    as democratic criteria are not met.
        President Clinton. Let me say, first of all, I--as you know, I agree
    exactly with what President Chirac has said, also on the humanitarian
    issue. I think there's some humanitarian support we should make
    available to all the people of the region, including the Serbs in
    Serbia. But on redevelopment, I believe what he just said; we're all
    together on that.
        Even though I strongly support the decision of the War Crimes
    Tribunal--or the prosecutor, Mrs. Arbour, too,
    to make the charges she did, I think it's important that we not in any
    way mislead people about what happens next. Our heaviest responsibility,
    the NATO Allies, is to

    [[Page 954]]

    get the Kosovars back home in safety and then to give them self-
    government, autonomy, and rebuilding assistance, and then work on the
    region.
        Under the rules that we have followed, any of us, if we had
    jurisdiction over Mr. Milosevic, would
    turn him over, or anyone else who had been charged, just as we do in
    Bosnia. If he remains in Serbian--inside the confines of Serbia,
    presumably he's beyond the reach of the extradition powers of the other
    governments.
        But sometimes these things take a good while to bear fruit. I think
    we'll just have to wait and see how that develops. But I think, given
    the evidence that was presented by Mrs. Arbour
    and what we know to be the evidence, I think she made the right
    decision. I think it's a very important thing. But I do not believe that
    the NATO Allies can invade Belgrade to try to deliver the indictment, if
    you will.
        And I don't think we should be--that does not mean that this is not
    an important thing or that there won't someday be a trial, but we need
    to focus on our obligations, our fundamental humanitarian obligations to
    get the Kosovars home and to continue to uncover whatever evidence of
    war crimes there is in Kosovo, as well.

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Mr. President, what are the steps that your administration
    intends to undertake to revive the Middle East peace process, and to
    what extent are you determined to achieve a major breakthrough before
    the end of your second term?
        President Clinton. Well, as you know, I have spent an enormous
    amount of time on this, for 6\1/2\ years now. The major step I took to
    revive the peace process was 9\1/2\ days at Wye Plantation last year in
    the Wye peace talks. I don't believe that I will have to take any steps
    to revive the peace process. I believe when the new government takes
    office, if what we see in the press reports is right about the
    composition of this broad-based coalition government, I believe that
    there will be a vigorous pursuit of all channels of the peace process.
        And the United States will do what it can, as I have for 6\1/2\
    years, and as we have done as a nation before, to support the parties
    that are seeking peace and to provide whatever security and other--
    economic and other incentives we can to bring it to a successful
    conclusion. But I expect there to be a revival of the peace process
    generated by the parties themselves. And then I expect to support it
    very strongly, and I would expect that President Chirac and the European
    Union will do the same.
        President Chirac. Allow me to add that Europe today unanimously--and
    Europe has shown this once again in Berlin--and France naturally, given
    the traditional ties France has with all countries of the region, are
    absolutely determined in this new context to give maximum support to the
    efforts made by the parties concerned and, obviously, by the United
    States.

    Serbian Withdrawal From Kosovo

        Q. Mr. President, do you expect the Serbs to get the other 14,000
    troops out by the Sunday deadline? And are you surprised that President
    Milosevic has kept his word so far?
        President Clinton. The short answer, I guess, is yes and no. Yes, I
    do expect them to meet the deadline, unless there is some practical
    reason they can't. And it's interesting, when the Serb military made the
    agreement, we even got word from some of the Kosovars that they expected
    the agreement to be kept. They thought that if the Serbian military
    forces actually gave their word, they would keep it. And I thought that
    was a hopeful reaction in terms of our ability to see some work together
    in the future.
        Now, as you know, General Jackson has
    already--our Commander in Kosovo--has already given permission at one
    phase of this withdrawal for a day's delay. So if General Jackson were
    to be asked and were to accede to some reasonable change because there
    were some fact that I'm unaware of, I wouldn't necessarily oppose that.
    I've got great confidence in him. But they are keeping to schedule.
        And am I surprised that Mr. Milosevic
    is doing that? No, I'm not, not really, because--not only because of the
    impact of our military campaign but because we have forces going in on
    the ground.
        Of the previous understandings that I have had over the last several
    years with Mr. Milosevic, the ones we had
    at Dayton, coming out of Bosnia, have pretty much been honored. But the
    facts were the same; we had forces on the ground. And I believe that
    that has a way of reinforcing people's commitments, when we have our
    forces there.

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    Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, is there still a strong disagreement with the
    United States as to how to get out of the crisis with Iraq--accept the
    principle of the French proposals on Iraq concerning the 100-day
    suspension of embargo on Iraq?
        President Clinton. Well, as you know, there is some difference here.
    I think largely it's a difference over what is likely to be more
    effective. The United States supports the efforts of the British and the
    Dutch and the Security Council because we believe that without the
    strongest possible inspection mechanism, Saddam Hussein will attempt to rebuild weapons of mass destruction
    stocks, particularly in the chemical and biological areas and perhaps
    missile technology, as well.
        President Chirac can speak for himself, but he believes that if the
    French-Dutch resolution were--I mean, the British-Dutch resolution were
    to pass, that it would simply be not accepted by Saddam
    Hussein, and so we would still be at an
    impasse. So there is a difference of opinion there. We agreed that we
    would discuss it further at the G-8 and we would try to come to a
    conclusion on it.
        This is not an easy issue, and I respect the efforts that the French
    are making, that the President is making. I can tell you generally what
    my concern is. It is not so much Saddam Hussein himself as my belief that 10 years from now, the
    person who is standing here as President and the person who is standing
    there as the President of France will be--and all of you, those of you
    who will be here asking questions, one of the things that you will be
    really worried about is the spread of biological and chemical weapons,
    probably high-tech, small-scale weapons, into the hands of international
    terrorist groups and organized crime groups that have loose
    relationships with irresponsible countries that give them these things.
    And I think it will be a substantial problem for the first couple of
    decades of the next century. And I just think we ought to do everything
    we possibly can to minimize that problem.
        But I think I have fairly stated the practical difference between
    our two positions, and I think the President should speak for himself.
        President Chirac. Well, obviously, I have the same concerns as
    President Clinton. But I think that the most important is, today, to
    once again reestablish inspections on Iraq's weapons, international
    verification. And to do so, what we need, at the very least, is to
    reexamine the conditions of the embargo--what is necessary, in any case,
    it seems to me, for reasons that have to do with the very serious
    degradation of living conditions of the Iraqi people, who are the
    victims of the situation. So we shall discuss a way of synthesizing,
    bring together these concerns.
        But let us not challenge the solidarity and the unity of the
    Security Council if we are not convinced that we're going to reach a
    result. And the present state of affairs, as President Clinton was
    saying a moment ago, that in any case Iraq will refuse the resolution
    which is at present being drafted, and therefore, it would be a somewhat
    pointless gesture which would not lead to any concrete results but might
    strain the solidarity of the Security Council. And you know how very
    deeply France is attached to the U.N., in general, and the Security
    Council, in particular. Thank you very much.
        President Clinton. Thank you.
        Q. Mr. President, do you believe the Russians lied to you, sir?
        Q. [Inaudible]
        President Clinton. We're going to be out there some more tomorrow.

    Gun Control Legislation

        Q. [Inaudible]--NRA may win with the--[inaudible]----
        President Clinton. I know. I got up at 5 a.m. and started making
    calls this morning. I'm doing my best.
        Q. What's your view?
        President Clinton. I don't know yet. I'm not close enough to have a
    good count.

    Presidential Candidacy Announcement

        Q. How do you think Al Gore did yesterday?
        President Clinton. Wonderful. I thought he was terrific.

    Note: The President's 175th news conference began at 11:24 a.m. in the
    Garden at Elysee Palace. President Chirac spoke in French, and his
    remarks were translated by an interpreter. In his remarks, President
    Clinton referred to Bernadette Chirac, wife of President Chirac; Prime
    Minister-elect Ehud Barak of Israel; Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev and
    Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov of Russia; President Arpad Goncz and Prime
    Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary; President

    [[Page 956]]

    Slobodan Milosevic of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and
    Montenegro); Louise Arbour, independent chief prosecutor, International
    War Crimes Tribunal; Lt. Gen. Mike Jackson, British Royal Army,
    Commander, Kosovo International Security Force; and President Saddam
    Hussein of Iraq. A portion of these remarks could not be verified
    because the tape was incomplete.