Diplomacy

I am very grateful for what they have done to bring about peace in Bosnia.

On behalf of the American people, it is my honor to welcome you to the United States as our neighbors, our partners, and our friends.

I seek no special favors for the United States, no special concessions.

The most important thing is that the work continue now to make a comprehensive peace.

I am delighted to be joined here by the Foreign Minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Ambassador to Greece to formally congratulate these two countries on the agreement they signed yesterday in New York.

I hope both governments will now proceed to establish friendly and enduring bilateral relations while taking steps to resolve their remaining differences, including over the name issue.

Both Prime Minister Papandreou and President Gligorov deserve congratulations for demonstrating the courage and determination needed to reach an agreement that was fair to both sides.

I am pleased to announce that I have received his positive response and can confirm that diplomatic relations now exist between our two countries.

I welcome the agreement signed by the Foreign Ministers of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in New York today normalizing their relations.

The U.N. Security Council resolution is clear, and the conditions laid out by our committee on the ground are clear.

I think the agreement signed in Geneva by the three parties is very, very hopeful.

Much work remains to be done in translating these principles into a final peace agreement.

I welcome the decision by Prime Minister Papandreou and President Gligorov to send their Foreign Ministers to New York next week to complete an agreement on steps to establish friendly relations between their two countries.

It falls now to us to stand against those who sow the seeds of war and to stand with those who take the risks of peace.

We will continue to pursue further efforts to establish such a common basis for a settlement.

We want to work together productively on even the most difficult subjects.

I want to thank the Prime Minister and the people of The Netherlands for renovating and updating the Carillon.

We cannot afford to walk away from not only the obligations but the opportunities to work together with other countries to solve problems before they get more severe.