    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 36 (Monday, September 8, 1997)]
    [Pages 1280-1281]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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

    September 3, 1997

    Dear __________:

        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 recent NATO Summit in Madrid highlighted the tremendous success
    of the Partnership for Peace and the important role PFP plays as a
    permanent security structure for the undivided Europe of the 21st
    century. On the second day of the Summit, 27 Partner Heads of State and
    Government met with their NATO counterparts under the auspices of the
    new Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. This meeting, the first of its
    kind, underscored the strength of the cooperative relationship NATO has
    built with the Partners in the 3-\1/2\ years since the creation of PFP.
        The Partnership for Peace has been instrumental in helping countries
    prepare for NATO membership. At the same time, it has also been a
    critical tool in helping all the countries of Central and Eastern
    Europe, regardless of their desire to join NATO, to build stronger ties
    with the Alliance and de

    [[Page 1281]]

    velop closer cooperative relationships with all their neighbors. As you
    will see from the attached report, NATO and its Partners have made
    impressive progress in broadening and deepening the Partnership over the
    past year. With the creation of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
    and the implementation of enhancements to the PFP program, Allies and
    Partners together will help bring about our shared goal of a Euro-
    Atlantic community that is safe, secure, and united by common values and
    common understanding.
        Sincerely,
                                                William J. Clinton

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