[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.