[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 44 (Monday, November 2, 1998)]
[Page 2140]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Ecuador-Peru Border Settlement Agreement

October 26, 1998

    I want to congratulate Presidents Mahuad of Ecuador and Fujimori of 
Peru on the historic signing today in Brasilia of a border settlement 
agreement between Ecuador and Peru. This signing marks the end of the 
last and longest-running source of armed international conflict in the 
Western Hemisphere.
    I am proud of the role the United States has played, alongside the 
other Guarantors, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, in bringing about the 
settlement. Mack McLarty, my former Special Envoy for the Americas, and 
Ambassador Luigi Einaudi, our Special Envoy for the Ecuador/Peru 
Process, have worked tirelessly over the past 3 years in cooperation 
with the parties and the other Guarantors to bring about this historic 
peace settlement. On October 9, I met with Presidents Mahuad and 
Fujimori at the White House to accept their joint request for the four 
Guarantors of the Rio Protocol to help them reach a final settlement.
    U.S. military personnel, along with those of Brazil, Argentina, and 
Chile have also made a vital contribution in manning the international 
observation force, which has monitored the cease-fire and helped 
maintain peace in the disputed area.