[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000-2001, Book III)]
[December 15, 2000]
[Page 2714]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Videotaped Remarks on the Shutdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Powerplant
 December 15, 2000

    President Kuchma, honored guests, people 
of Ukraine, today is a great day for Ukraine and for the world.
    On April 26, 1986, reactor number four at the Chernobyl nuclear 
powerplant suffered a runaway chain reaction, causing the worst nuclear 
disaster in history. That horrible destruction has offered us lessons 
not only in nuclear technology but also in people and governments. For 
when governments are arrogant and unaccountable, they will impose 
unacceptable risks on the health and safety of their people.
    After the disaster, the outspoken father of the Soviet atomic 
program, Dr. Andrei Sakharov, declared that the safe use of nuclear 
technology demands open discussions and informed citizens. So it is 
fitting that while a Communist government of the U.S.S.R. built the 
unsafe plant, a free and independent Ukraine is shutting it down. It is 
also fitting to recall that the very event that exposed the weakness of 
the Soviet system revealed the courage and valor of the Ukrainian 
people.
    Fourteen years ago Ukrainians took heroic steps to contain the 
danger and protect their people. Today, we see that same commitment, as 
Ukraine, with the cooperation of the United States, the G-7, and the EU, 
fulfills its historic decision to shut down the Chernobyl nuclear 
powerplant forever. This is a triumph for the common good. It is what is 
possible when free, democratic nations pursue common goals. As President 
Kuchma noted some years ago, after Ukrainian 
cosmonaut Leonid Kadenyk joined American 
astronauts on the space shuttle, ``Not even the sky is the limit to 
Ukrainian-U.S. cooperation.''
    America will stand with Ukraine as you fight for a free and 
prosperous future. We will support Ukraine's efforts to take your 
rightful place among the nations of Europe and alongside the world's 
free market democracies.
    As you open your economy, strengthen the rule of law, and protect a 
free press, you are both attacking the ills that led to the Chernobyl 
disaster and building a future where the children of Ukraine can live 
their dreams. America is on your side. We wish you Godspeed.
    Slava Ukrayini.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 1:15 p.m. in Room 459 in the 
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and his remarks were 
videotaped for later broadcast in Ukraine. In his remarks, he referred 
to President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.