[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 19 (Monday, May 15, 1995)]
[Pages 811-812]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

May 11, 1995

    Today in New York the nations of the world made history. The 
decision by consensus to extend indefinitely the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty without conditions is a critical step in making the 
American people--and people throughout the world--more safe and secure. 
It will build a better future for our children and the generations to 
come.
    Indefinite extension of the NPT has been a central priority of my 
Administration--the primary item on the most ambitious arms control 
agenda since the dawn of the nuclear age. For twenty-five years, the NPT 
has been the cornerstone of global efforts to reduce the danger of 
nuclear weapons. Today's overwhelming consensus in favor of making the 
treaty permanent testifies to a deep and abiding international 
commitment to confront the danger posed by nuclear weapons.
    It is fitting that we should do this today. This week, all the 
world's peoples have joined together to commemorate the events of fifty 
years ago, when the allied forces defeated fascism but much of the world 
lay shattered by war and shrouded by the dawn of the atomic age. After 
five decades of Cold War competition and the specter of nuclear 
holocaust between East and West, the decision to make the Non-
Proliferation Treaty permanent opens a new and more hopeful chapter in 
our history.
    The nuclear danger has not ended. The capability to build nuclear 
weapons cannot be unlearned, nor will evil ambition disappear. But the 
overwhelming consensus in favor of the Treaty and its future attests to 
a deep and abiding international commitment to confront the nuclear 
danger by rejecting nuclear proliferation. This decision says to our 
children and all who follow: the community of nations will remain 
steadfast

[[Page 812]]

in opposing the dangerous spread of nuclear weapons.
    I am especially pleased to receive this news in Kiev, for Ukraine's 
adherence to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapons state and its action to 
bring START I into force were major contributions to the effort to 
achieve indefinite extension of the Treaty. I want once more to thank 
President Kuchma for these important and positive steps.
    This moment also owes much to the progress made by the United States 
and Russia in reducing and dismantling strategic nuclear arsenals. As 
one of the three depositaries of the NPT, Russia has worked closely with 
us and others to bring about the Treaty's indefinite extension.
    This event is a victory for all. I want to express my appreciation 
to all of the countries who worked hard to achieve a successful outcome 
to the NPT Extension Conference, and who have made a decision that 
strengthens the security of every nation and of all people.