[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 3 (Monday, January 24, 1994)]
[Pages 55-56]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters in Brussels, Belgium

January 9, 1994

Speech to Future Leaders of Europe

    Q. Mr. President, how do you think your speech was received tonight?
    The President. Oh, very well. I mean, you know, we consciously 
picked a very small room, and the Europeans are normally much more 
polite when speeches are given like that. It was a serious speech. But a 
lot of the students came up to me afterwards and said that they were 
pleased to know that we were thinking about their future and that they 
found the ideas basically things they agreed with. I was very 
encouraged----
    Q. Mr. President, can you tell us about the Ukraine?
    The President. ----and then after I got out into the crowd in the 
Place, there was much more sort of overt enthusiasm. And the Prime 
Minister and others were saying, ``You know, that's the way we are. 
We're restrained in speeches, but these people are glad to see you. Look 
at the Place.''

Ukraine

    Q. What can you tell us about the Ukraine, Mr. President? Are you 
close to an agreement, or do you have an agreement? Can Kravchuk sell 
it? Might we go to Kiev?
    The President. All I can tell you tonight is that we worked very, 
very hard to bring the three of us together, and we've made a terrific 
amount of progress. And at least when I left to go to the speech I was 
not in a position to make an announcement.
    Q. But you think it might be possible that this could happen and 
that Kravchuk could sell it?
    The President. Well, I don't want to--presumably, Mr. Kravchuk 
wouldn't agree to anything he didn't think he could sell. I think--I 
feel--I'm proud of the work that's been done, and I appreciate very much 
the attitude that Kravchuk and Yeltsin have brought to this whole 
endeavor. But I don't think I can say any more tonight. I don't even 
want to----

Partnership For Peace

    Q. Do you think Eastern European countries are going to be reassured 
by the Partnership For Peace?
    The President. I hope so.
    Q. [Inaudible]--giving Russia veto?
    The President. I think they need to know this is not a question of 
veto power. But keep in mind there are certain responsibilities inherent 
in being in NATO, first of all, that NATO allies all remind each other 
of all the time. And what I said tonight I want to reemphasize. What I 
want to do is to leave open the possibility of creating the best 
possible future for Europe, where they all have the chance to be 
democracies, they all have a chance to be market economies, they all 
have a chance to respect one another's securities and to support it and 
to do it in a way that also permits us to do the best we can if the best 
future is not open to us. That's what the Partnership For Peace does. 
It's not giving anybody a veto on future NATO membership.
    Q. But what do you say to people who say that NATO isn't relevant if 
it can't guarantee the peace, let's say, in Bosnia?
    The President. Well, that was never the purpose of NATO. The purpose 
of NATO was to guarantee the peace and security of the countries that 
were member nations. And when the United States asked NATO to approve 
some actions in and around Bosnia, it was the first time we'd ever done 
anything out of the area of the NATO members themselves.
    So we're working on this. It's not been established yet that anyone 
is capable of solving a civil war in another country. That's not been 
established yet.

[[Page 56]]

    Q. [Inaudible]--air strikes will be discussed tomorrow, air strikes 
possible tomorrow?
    The President. Good night, everybody.

Note: The exchange began at approximately 8:30 p.m. at the Au Vieux 
Saint Martin Restaurant. A tape was not available for verification of 
the content of this exchange. This item was not received in time for 
publication in the appropriate issue.