    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [April 24, 1999]
    [Pages 611-612]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Opening Session of the North Atlantic Council Summit
    April 24, 1999

        Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary General.
        Yesterday we recalled NATO's history, embraced our new members,
    deepened our unity and our determination to stand against ethnic
    cleansing in Kosovo and to build a broader transatlantic community that
    respects human

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    rights of all ethnic and religious groups and offers all Europeans the
    chance to build better lives together.
        I want to begin by thanking the Secretary General for his leadership. I thank all of you for your
    leadership and your unity, the foreign and defense ministers, General
    Naumann and General Clark, and all the people in our governments who worked so hard
    to support our efforts. I know I speak for all of us when I say we are
    very proud of our men and women in uniform in the Balkans. And we
    remember today, especially, the
    three who
    are being held prisoner by Mr. Milosevic
    and who still have not received the Red Cross visits required by the
    Geneva Convention, even though he is on television in the United States
    saying they will receive them.
        The crisis in Kosovo has underscored the importance of NATO and the
    imperative of modernizing our Alliance for 21st century challenges.
    Today we will embrace a comprehensive plan to do just that, so that NATO
    can advance security and freedom for another 50 years by enhancing our
    capacity to address conflicts beyond our borders, by protecting our
    citizens from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, by deepening
    our partnerships with other nations and helping new members enter
    through NATO's open doors. In preparing NATO for the 21st century, we
    will make our Alliance even stronger.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at approximately 9:23 a.m. in the Mellon
    Auditorium. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary General Javier
    Solana of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; Gen. Klaus Naumann,
    chairman, NATO Military Committee; Gen. Wesley K. Clark, Supreme Allied
    Commander, Europe; President Slobodan Milosevic of the Federal Republic
    of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro); and Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez,
    USA, Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Stone, USA, and Specialist Steven M.
    Gonzales, USA, infantrymen in custody in Serbia. The transcript released
    by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of
    Secretary General Solana.