[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

[[Page 717]]

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.