    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 17 (Monday, May 3, 1999)]
    [Pages 716-717]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks at the Opening Session of the North Atlantic Council Summit

    April 24, 1999

        Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary General.
        Yesterday, we recalled NATO's history, embraced our new members,
    deepened our unity and our determination to stand against ethnic
    cleansing in Kosovo and to build a broader transatlantic community that
    respects human rights of all ethnic and religious groups and offers all
    Europeans the chance to build better lives together.
        I want to begin by thanking the Secretary General for his
    leadership. I thank all of you for your leadership and your unity, the
    foreign and defense ministers, General Naumann and General Clark and all
    the people in our governments who worked so hard to support our efforts.
    I know I speak for all of us when I say we are very proud of our men and
    women in uniform in the Balkans. And we remember today, especially, the
    three who are being held prisoner by Mr. Milosevic and who still have
    not received the Red Cross visits required by the Geneva Convention,
    even though he is on television in the United States saying they will
    receive them.
        The crisis in Kosovo has underscored the importance of NATO and the
    imperative of modernizing our alliance for 21st century challenges.
    Today we will embrace a comprehensive plan to do just that, so that NATO
    can advance security and freedom for another 50 years by enhancing our
    capacity to address conflicts beyond our borders, by protecting our
    citizens from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, by deepening
    our partnerships with other nations and helping new members enter
    through NATO's open

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    doors. In preparing NATO for the 21st century, we will make our alliance
    even stronger.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:21 a.m. in the Mellon Auditorium. In his
    remarks, he referred to Secretary General Javier Solana of the North
    Atlantic Treaty Organization; Gen. Klaus Naumann, chairman, NATO
    Military Committee; Gen. Wesley K. Clark, Supreme Allied Commander,
    Europe; President Slobodan Milosevic of the Federal Republic of
    Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro); and the three U.S. Army infantrymen
    in custody in Serbia: Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez, Staff Sgt.
    Christopher J. Stone, and Specialist Steven M. Gonzales. The transcript
    made available by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the
    remarks of Secretary General Solana.