[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 18 (Monday, May 5, 1997)]
[Pages 615-616]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Jose Aznar of Spain and an 
Exchange With Reporters

April 30, 1997

    President Clinton. Well, let me begin by welcoming President Aznar 
and his group of leaders from Spain. Spain has set an example for the 
world now for quite a few years in its transition to a remarkable and 
healthy and vibrant democracy, which produced your recent election, and 
has been a very valuable ally and partner of the United States in Bosnia 
and now in Guatemala and, of course, is going to be the host of our 
summit on NATO in July. So we're looking very much forward to being 
there. And we appreciate you very much.
    Yes, we have our fingers crossed. [Laughter]

Budget Agreement

    Q. Have you got a budget deal, Mr. President? And why did Chelsea 
pick Stanford? [Laughter]
    President Clinton. Not yet, but if you look at the economic news 
this morning, it is one more clear example that we did the right thing 
in '93 and that the right strategy is to bring the deficit down, expand 
trade, and invest in education and training and science and technology. 
And so, if we can get an agreement that does all that--that is balances 
the budget but also continues to invest in the areas that our people 
need to grow the economy--then I will support it. And we're working 
hard. We worked hard yesterday. And perhaps it will happen.
    Q. Before you go to Mexico?
    President Clinton. Oh, I don't know about that.

Chelsea's College Decision

    Q. Tell us about why Chelsea chose Stanford, why you think she did?
    President Clinton. I don't know. She looked at all these schools, 
she had wonderful choices, and she made her own decision. And her mother 
and I are proud of her, and we support her.
    You know, the great thing about America is that there are literally 
a few hundred world-class educational institutions in this country. And 
she didn't have a bad choice; she just picked the decision she though 
was best for her.
    Q. How do you feel about her going so far away?
    President Clinton. Well, the planes run out there, and the phones 
work out there. [Laughter] And the E-mail works out there. So we'll be 
all right.
    Q. What was your role, sir, in the decision?
    President Clinton. None, except I listened, asked questions, and 
attempted to have no influence whatever.

Hong Kong

    Q. Mr. President, did you get any assurances from the Foreign 
Minister of Hong Kong that Hong Kong would enjoy greater autonomy under 
Chinese rule? Did you get any assurances?
    President Clinton. Well, we had a good discussion about Hong Kong, 
and he assured me that China intended to observe the terms of the 
agreement of 1984 that they made with Great Britain and that the United 
States supported back then. I was quite satisfied with what he said. And 
I certainly hope that it will reflect Chinese policy.
    The Vice President. Thank you. Muchos gracias.

Helms-Burton Amendment

    Q. Do you consider the conflict on Helms-Burton completely finished, 
sir?
    President Clinton. I hope so.

[At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group 
entered.]

    President Clinton. Is everybody in?
    Let me begin by welcoming President Aznar here to visit us. We have 
had a wonderful partnership with Spain for many years and have admired 
the vibrant democracy that the Spanish people enjoy, and have 
appreciated the partnership we have had with Spain in NATO, working 
together in Bosnia, most recently in Guatemala.
    And I want to say a special word of appreciation, obviously, to the 
President for hosting the NATO summit in Madrid this July. I'm looking 
forward to that and hoping I can come a day or two early and look

[[Page 616]]

around Spain again, for the first time in 30 years.
    President Aznar. You're invited; you know that. I hope to see you 
there.

[At this point, President Aznar continued his remarks in Spanish, and a 
translation was not provided.]

NATO

    Q. Mr. President, what do you expect from Spain with the new role 
that NATO has to play?
    President Clinton. Well, first of all, I expect an important 
leadership role. We want Spain integrated fully into the NATO command 
structure. We're very fortunate in having a Secretary-General of NATO 
from Spain. And having Madrid be the site of this historic summit when 
we will vote for the first time to take in new members and hopefully be 
in a position to celebrate a new arrangement with Russia--we're working 
on that now; we hope we can achieve that--I think symbolizes the role 
that Spain will play in the years ahead in NATO.
    Also, we look to the Spanish to lead in NATO, to be willing to do 
what has to be done, to have a say in situations which may not be 
immediately popular but which are profoundly important.
    Again, let me say, I'm very grateful to the support we've received 
in Bosnia, to the work we're doing in Guatemala. The influence that 
Spain has in Latin America is something that's especially important to 
the United States because we seek to integrate ourselves more closely 
into Latin America and in partnership with Spain. So we're very hopeful 
there.
    Q. [Inaudible]--petition for--taking a bigger role, more important 
role in the NATO?
    President Clinton. Well, the details of all that have to be worked 
out by the command structure. But we want Spain integrated into the 
structure, yes.

The President's Visit to Spain

    Q. [Inaudible]--will you come next?
    President Clinton. I don't know. Since I've been President, I've 
only been really to Madrid and for brief periods. But 30 years ago--28 
years ago this month, I had a vacation as a very young man in Spain. And 
I've always wanted to go back, and I've always wanted to have a chance 
to see it with Hillary. My daughter was able to come to Spain for an 
extended period a couple of years ago. So we're hoping that we can take 
just a couple of days off before the summit to see some more things in 
Spain. I'll follow the President's lead; I won't sketch out my itinerary 
here because I don't really have one. [Laughter]

Note: The President spoke at 12:45 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, the President referred to Minister of Foreign 
Affairs Qian Qichen of China; and Javier Solana, Secretary-General of 
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.