[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.