[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 40 (Monday, October 9, 1995)]
[Page 1765]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Announcing Agreement on a Cease-Fire in Bosnia-Herzegovina and 
an Exchange With Reporters

October 5, 1995

    The President. Good morning. Today we take another solid step on the 
hard but hopeful road to peace in Bosnia. I'm pleased to announce that 
the parties in Bosnia have agreed to a cease-fire to terminate all 
hostile military activities throughout the territory of Bosnia-
Herzegovina to become effective on October the 10th, if certain 
conditions are met.
    At the same time, the Governments of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia 
have agreed to proximity peace talks in the United States, beginning 
about October the 25th, aimed at bringing them closer to a peace 
agreement. Those negotiations will take place with the assistance of our 
able negotiating team, led by Assistant Secretary Holbrooke, together 
with our Contact Group partners.
    The talks will continue, then, at an international peace conference 
in Paris that can help to achieve an enduring end to the struggle. This 
is an important moment in the painful history in Bosnia, for today the 
parties have agreed to put down their arms and roll up their sleeves and 
work for peace.
    We need to be clear-eyed about this. What matters is what the 
parties do, not simply what they say. There remain deep divisions to 
overcome. We are now on the right road, but we have by no means reached 
our destination, which is a serious and lasting peace in Bosnia. This 
cease-fire, however, greatly increases our chances to end the war and to 
achieve a peace. The United States, together with our European and our 
Russian partners, intends to use all of our influence and every ounce of 
our energy to seize this historic opportunity for peace.
    Q. Do you think--this statement, and do you wish you had done it 
sooner? If you had moved more aggressively----
    The President. All I know is that we're on the verge of a cease-
fire. We're going to do our best to get the cease-fire. We have 5 days 
of hard work to do on that.
    Q. Will NATO police this cease-fire? How will this be enforced?
    The President. We're going to brief you on all the details of the 
cease-fire. We intend to go forward with the cease-fire, then go forward 
with the talks here in Washington. We hope we can start the talks in 
Washington by October the 25th, and we feel very strongly that that will 
increase the chances of peace.

Note: The President spoke at 11 a.m. in the Briefing Room at the White 
House.