    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [April 24, 1999]
    [Pages 626-627]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-Ukraine
    Commission
    April 24, 1999

        Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary General. Like all the NATO leaders, I am very pleased to
    welcome President Kuchma to this first summit
    meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission.

    [[Page 627]]

        When we launched this commission 2 years ago in Madrid, we hoped it
    would lead to a pragmatic and truly distinctive working partnership.
    Ukraine is a nation critical to our vision of an undivided, peaceful,
    democratic Europe.
        The experience of the last 2 years has vindicated our hopes. Our
    Armed Forces are working together well in Bosnia. Ukraine played a vital
    role in Kosovo in the verification mission until it was driven out by
    the regime in Belgrade.
        I appreciate President Kuchma's efforts to
    persuade Mr. Milosevic to end his
    campaign against the Kosovar Albanians so that the Kosovar people can
    come home with security and self-government.
        Ukraine has also proposed an ambitious program of cooperation with
    NATO, and the Alliance has agreed to establish our very first
    Partnership for Peace training center in the Ukrainian town of Yavorov.
    Our nations also will support Ukraine's efforts to reform its economy,
    deepen its democracy, and advance the rule of law, all vital to
    Ukraine's security and the success of our partnership.
        When we act to maintain peace and security in Europe, we will strive
    to do so with our partners, including Ukraine. That is what we hope to
    do with Ukraine and other nations in Kosovo once peace is restored
    there.
        We have taken many practical, good steps toward realizing the
    promise of our partnership. But we should also not lose sight of the
    larger significance of what we are trying to do here, in light of the
    history of Ukraine and the history of Europe, for the people of Ukraine
    have felt the horrors of communism and fascism and famine. At different
    points in this century, the flags of five outside powers have flown over
    Ukrainian territory. Now Ukraine flies its own flag, and it is incumbent
    upon all of us to support Ukraine's transition and what its people have
    called their European choice.
        Ukraine still faces large challenges: political, economic,
    environmental. But now it is free to choose its destiny. And it has used
    that freedom to choose democracy and tolerance and free markets,
    integration, and the choice to dismantle its nuclear arsenal.
        President Kuchma's presence here is a
    reminder that most of Europe is coming together today. Most of Europe
    has rejected the idea that the quest for security is a zero-sum game in
    which one nation's gain is another's loss. So most of all, I want to
    take this opportunity on behalf of the people of the United States to
    express my respect and gratitude to President Kuchma and the people of
    Ukraine for the choices they are making, and to assure them that all of
    us and our partners will stand with them as they work for a better
    future.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at approximately 4:28 p.m. at the Mellon
    Auditorium. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary General Javier
    Solana of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; President Leonid
    Kuchma of Ukraine; 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 and President Kuchma.