    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 17 (Monday, May 3, 1999)]
    [Pages 734-735]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks at the Opening Session of the Summit of the Euro-Atlantic
    Partnership Council

    April 25, 1999

        Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary General. First of all, I would
    like to join you in welcoming all the members of our Partnership
    Council. From Central Asia to North

    [[Page 735]]

    America, from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, this Council and the
    Partnership for Peace are building a region of shared values and shared
    endeavors.
        Many nations in this room, indeed, are accepting risks and hardships
    to support the peace in southeastern Europe. To be sure, there are
    challenges to our common vision of a Europe undivided, democratic, and
    at peace: the challenge of overcoming instability and economic hardship
    in the Balkans; of defeating those who employ ethnic hatred in the
    service of power; the challenge of integrating a democratic Russia into
    the European mainstream; the challenge of averting a gulf between Europe
    and the Islamic world; the challenge of resolving tensions in the
    Aegean.
        We must see reducing conflict and tensions and increasing prosperity
    and integration as two sides of the same coin. Therefore, as we fight
    against ethnic hatred in Kosovo, we must fight for the rebuilding of
    southeastern Europe and the integration of the region into the larger
    European community.
        We must continue to strengthen the Partnership for Peace and deepen
    the role that our partner countries play in the planning and execution
    of the missions we undertake together. We must continue to build on our
    cooperation with Russia, with Ukraine, with all the members of this
    Council, to advance the interests and ideals we share.
        We must continue the enlargement of NATO, the Partnership for Peace,
    and the Partnership Council. All of these things, I am convinced, will
    make Europe stronger and freer and more stable. And I think that I can
    speak for my friend Mr. Chretien, when I say that those of us in North
    America strongly support it.
        As I said last night at our dinner, if you look around this room,
    the idea that all of us could be sitting here together around one table
    would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. We are here around
    this table together because we are thinking about our common future. And
    that is the best thing to say about this meeting today.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:08 p.m. at the Mellon Auditorium. In his
    remarks, he referred to Secretary General Javier Solana of the North
    Atlantic Treaty Organization; and Prime Minister Jean Chretien of
    Canada. The transcript made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary also included the remarks of Secretary General Solana.