    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [April 23, 1999]
    [Pages 605-606]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Opening of the North Atlantic Council Meeting on Kosovo
    April 23, 1999

        Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary General. Mr. Secretary General, fellow leaders, let me begin by
    welcoming you warmly to the United States. We are honored to host this
    50th Anniversary Summit of NATO. We meet to honor NATO's past, to chart
    its future, to reaffirm our mission in Kosovo, where NATO is defending
    our values and our vision of a Europe free, undivided, and at peace.
        Today we send a clear message of unity and determination: to sustain
    our air campaign for as long as it takes; to stand firm in our
    conditions for ending it; to pursue diplomatic initiatives to meet those
    conditions; to increase political and economic pressure against the
    regime in Belgrade; to stand by the frontline nations threatened by
    Belgrade's actions; and to work with them for stability, democracy, and
    prosperity in southeastern Europe, so that when Mr.
    Milosevic's vision for the future is
    defeated, a better one can rise in its place.
        We will seek to do this together with our European partners, and
    with Ukraine and with Russia. We will make clear what is at stake. Mr.
    Milosevic's forces burn and loot homes and murder innocent people; our
    forces deliver food and shelter and hope to the displaced. Mr.
    Milosevic fans the flames of anger
    between nations and peoples; we are an Alliance of 19 nations, uniting
    780 million people of many faiths and ethnic, racial, and religious
    backgrounds. Mr. Milosevic knows only one way to achieve his aims,
    through force; we have done

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    everything we could to resolve this matter peacefully.
        But when we fight, we fight to prevail--to prevail in this conflict
    and to build the undivided, democratic Europe that the founders of NATO
    envisioned 50 years ago.
        Thank you, and welcome again.

    Note: The President spoke at approximately 9:25 a.m. in the pavilion at
    the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center. In his remarks, he
    referred to Secretary General Javier Solana of the North Atlantic Treaty
    Organization; and President Slobodan Milosevic of the Federal Republic
    of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). The transcript released by the
    Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of Secretary
    General Solana.