[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[June 18, 1999]
[Pages 964-966]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on the Agreement on Russian Participation in KFOR and an 
Exchange With Reporters in Cologne
June 18, 1999

    The President. Let me say, first of all, how pleased I am and 
appreciative I am for the efforts made by Secretary Cohen and Defense Minister Sergeyev to 
reach the agreement under which the Russian forces will join KFOR in 
Kosovo.
    I have been briefed on the terms of the agreement. They provide for 
unity of command. They provide for a significant range of 
responsibilities for the Russians, which I think are entirely 
appropriate and will enhance the mission's effectiveness. And I am fully 
supportive of this agreement and very pleased by it.
    This has been a good day. We are achieving our objectives now. We 
know that we have 35,000 Serb forces out, 19,000 KFOR forces in. Now we 
have the agreement with the Russians, and the Kosovars are going home. 
So I feel very good and very grateful for this.
    And again, I know that Secretary Cohen 
and Mr. Sergeyev have worked very hard, and 
I'd also like to thank Secretary Albright and Foreign

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Minister Ivanov, because I know they've been 
also in Helsinki working away. So I'm very pleased.
    Q. What will the Russian troops be doing, and why is it significant 
that they would not control a sector of their own?
    The President. Well, for one--the main reason is they are actually 
needed in more than one sector.
    Q. Why?
    The President. Because even though the Serb population of Kosovo is 
concentrated primarily in one north central sector and then a 
northeastern sector, they're actually--the religious and cultural sites 
are spread throughout the country and there are pockets of Serbs 
throughout the country, and we think it's quite important that every 
effort be made to secure both the physical sites and the personal 
security of the Serb minority, as well as the Kosovar-Albanian majority. 
And we think it will give confidence to them if the Russians are in more 
than one sector.
    Q. Will the Russians answer to the NATO commanders?
    The President. They have worked out their agreements on unity of 
command, and Secretary Cohen and Mr. 
Sergeyev are discussing it now--I think the 
briefing is going on now, so there's no point in my trying to answer 
their questions for them. They'd do a better job than I would, and if 
made a mistake, just have to clean it up.
    Q. Is this better than Bosnia, sir?

Gun Control Legislation

    Q. The House vote to kill the gun legislation--was that inevitable 
to kill the legislation because of changes the House wanted to make on 
gun control and the background checks?
    The President. Did they do that today?
    Q. I think they're about to.
    The President. They're going to kill it all?
    Q. They have killed it all.
    Q. They have.
    The President. Well, then maybe that means we'll go back to square 
one and pass a good bill.
    Q. What happened? A month ago it was so different, wasn't it?
    The President. They made a--the decision made by the leadership not 
to act before Memorial Day gave people--gave the NRA time to mobilize 
and lobby and put pressure on the House and gave people's attention time 
to wander from the heartbreak of Littleton and the determination to do 
something about it.
    But I think people still feel very strongly that there's more we can 
do to protect our children, and my attention hasn't wandered. I've been 
working on this for years, and I've seen a lot of ups and downs, so I'm 
more than happy to keep at it. And I would just urge all the advocates 
of sensible legislation to keep their spirits up and keep working and 
keep fighting. And I'll be there with them, and we'll get some things 
done.

Russian Participation in KFOR

    Q. Is this more than Bosnia for the Russians, Mr. President? Is this 
an enhanced role than what they had in Bosnia?
    The President. Yes, I would say so, because--but it's different. You 
see, in Bosnia, we shared a sector in Bosnia, and we worked very well 
together. I think all of our people will tell you they were very well 
pleased. And then the French had a sector and the British had a sector, 
and there were lots of other countries involved, just as there will be 
here. There will be nearly 30 countries involved.
    But the--we didn't have the same dynamic here. We've got just two 
ethnic groups, and the Serbs are a small minority, but they're a 
substantial number of people and they're spread out. You know, of 
course, I hope that conditions will be such that those ordinary 
civilians who didn't commit any crimes who left will feel that they can 
come back, too.
    So I think having the Russians there and then playing the 
administrative role at the airport gives them a broader range of 
responsibilities, because as I said, I think it's perfectly consistent 
with the mission. I think it will help us to send the message, to model 
the message to both groups that we really do want all law-abiding people 
to be able to live in peace in Kosovo, and we intend to honor our 
commitments to that end.
    So I feel quite good about this, and I've reviewed the, as I said, 
the terms of command and control and the basic elements. I think it will 
work. My test about all this has always been, will it work; ill it bring 
the Kosovars home; will it enable them to live in safety with self-
government; will it enable us to protect everyone's religious and 
cultural and other appropriate sites? I think the answers to all those

[[Page 966]]

questions, if this agreement is faithfully implemented--and I believe it 
will be--the answers to those questions are yes.
    Q. Do you trust the Russians?
    The President. Well, we--all I can tell you is, every time I've had 
an understanding with Boris Yeltsin, he's kept 
it. And we did work with them on a consistent, long-term basis for years 
now in Bosnia, and it's worked out. So I believe now that the agreement 
is worked out, I think it will be honored. I expect it will be honored.
    Q. Despite last week----
    The President. Yes, absolutely.

Note: The President spoke at 10:08 p.m. in front of the Cologne 
Cathedral. In his remarks, he referred to Minister of Defense Igor 
Sergeyev, Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov, and President Boris 
Yeltsin of Russia. A tape was not available for verification of the 
content of these remarks.