[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 34 (Monday, August 26, 1996)]
[Pages 1483-1484]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Letter to Congressional Leaders Transmitting a Report on the Partnership 
For Peace Initiative

August 21, 1996

Dear Mr. __________:

    In accordance with section 514(a) of Public Law 103-236 (22 U.S.C. 
1928(a)), I am submitting to you this report on implementation of the 
Partnership for Peace (PFP) initiative.
    The ongoing adaptation of Europe's security structures to post-Cold 
War realities remains one of our highest foreign policy priorities. A 
central element of this adaptation is the extension of NATO's zone of 
stability and security to Europe's emerging democracies. Over the past 
two and a half years, the Partnership for Peace has made a significant 
contribution to this goal by forging new cooperative ties between the 
Alliance and its Partners. This U.S. initiative has united NATO Allies 
with countries recently emerged from communist and traditionally neutral 
states in a partnership based on respect for democratic principles, 
peaceful resolution of disputes, and practical cooperation.
    For all Partners, PFP will be an enduring instrument for forging 
stronger ties with

[[Page 1484]]

NATO. For those Partners interested in joining NATO, PFP is the best 
path to membership. As you will see from the enclosed report, NATO and 
its Partners have made impressive progress in broadening and deepening 
the Partnership over the past year. We are working with our Allies and 
Partners to build on the Partnership's early momentum in the shared 
conviction that cooperation and common action are the best means to 
achieving lasting security throughout the Euro-Atlantic area.
    Sincerely,
                                            William J. Clinton

Note: Identical letters were sent to Jesse Helms, chairman, and 
Claiborne Pell, ranking member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; 
and Benjamin A. Gilman, chairman, and Lee H. Hamilton, ranking member, 
House Committee on International Relations.