[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 12 (Monday, March 29, 1993)]
[Pages 489-490]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters Prior to a Meeting With Dorsey High School 
Students

 March 25, 1993

Ukraine-U.S. Relations

    Q. Mr. President, did anything come out of your meeting with the 
Ukrainian Foreign Minister as far as the START Treaty?
    The President. I just told him how important it was to us, that I 
realize that there was some opposition at home in Ukraine because of 
uncertainty in Russia, but we had to have them sign on. And I would 
encourage them to go ahead and do it, while I realize there are some 
implementation issues that we would have to work with them on. And I was 
glad to work with him on that but that the United States wanted very 
much to be close to the Ukraine. We have a big stake in their success, 
and we've got a lot of commercial potential there and they here, as well 
as a lot of ties. We have a lot of Ukrainian Americans, as you know.
    But I think this START Treaty is a precondition to a long-term, 
successful relationship. And I think they should go into the 
nonproliferation regime and give up nuclear weapons. We don't need any 
more nuclear states. The United States is trying to reduce our nuclear 
arsenals, and we need to continue to push in that direction.
    It was a very good meeting. And I think over the long run, the 
United States will have a good relationship with Ukraine if we get the 
START issue resolved.
    Q. Mr. President, did he say the crisis in Moscow is having 
repercussions back home for him?
    The President. Well, he said it was adding to a sense of uncertainty 
in this country, which you would expect it would. I mean, they're right 
next door there. But I hope, of course, as every day goes by there seems 
to be an attempt by President Yeltsin and others, frankly, to confine 
the dimensions of the process, to regularize it and to let it play 
itself out in a vote of the people on April 25th. Of course that's the 
most democratic way you could do that to resolve that crisis.
    Q. Did you get a sense----
    The President. I don't know that. I know what you were going to say. 
I don't know that. I hope so. I feel better about it, but I don't know 
that for sure.

U.S. Attorneys

    Q. Are you afraid that firing all the U.S. attorneys at once will be 
seen as political?
    The President. Absolutely not. We waited longer than most of our 
predecessors have. Go back and look and see when they tried to replace 
them under Bush, under Reagan, under--particularly under Reagan. Anytime 
when you change parties--it took us longer to begin the process because 
of the delay in getting an Attorney General confirmed. But all those 
people are routinely replaced, and I have not done anything differently. 
The Justice Department is just proceeding from essentially a late start. 
And I think the blanket decision is less political than picking people 
out one by one.

[[Page 490]]

    Q. Do you think Jay Stephens should stay on at least to the end of 
the Rostenkowski----
    The President. I support the Attorney General. She made the decision 
about what the best way to handle this was, since we were behind. And 
support her decision.

Note: The exchange began at 4:10 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. Jay Stephens is the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. A 
tape was not available for verification of the content of this exchange.