    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [June 10, 2000]
    [Pages 1119-1120]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the Death of President
    Hafiz al-Asad of Syria and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    June 10, 2000

        The President. As all of you know, I received word not very long ago
    of President Asad's death in Syria today. I was very saddened by it, and
    I want to offer my condolences to his son, his
    family, and to the people of Syria.
        You know, over the last 7 years, I had the occasion to meet with
    President Asad many times, and I believe I got to know him well. And
    while we had our disagreements, I always respected him because I felt
    that he was open and straightforward with me and because I felt

    [[Page 1120]]

    he meant it when he said he had made a strategic choice for peace. I
    regret that that peace was not achieved in his lifetime, and I hope that
    it can still be achieved, in no small measure because of the commitment
    he made.
        I think today, rather than speculating about the future, it would be
    best for all of us just to send our condolences and our best thoughts to
    his family and to the people of Syria.
        Thank you.
        Q.  Mr. President, since he was such a integral link in the process,
    is this going to delay the future of the process? How is it going to
    affect the expediency of the process that you've been trying to jump-
    start recently?
        The President.  Peter, [Peter Maer, CBS News] I think it's premature
    to say. There will be a period of mourning in Syria. There will be a
    period of sorting out, and the Syrian people will make some decisions,
    and then we'll see what happens. But you know, we've been at this now
    for years because of the decision that he made to go back to
    negotiations and try to move away from conflict, and it's certainly a
    path that I hope the country will stay on.

     Note:  The President spoke at 12:17 p.m. on his arrival at the
    Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. In his remarks, he referred
    to President's al-Asad's son, Bashur Asad.