Bill Clinton: “I just told him how important it was to us, that I realize that there was some opposition at home in Ukraine because of…”

“I just told him how important it was to us, that I realize that there was some opposition at home in Ukraine because of uncertainty in Russia, but we had to have them sign on. And I would encourage them to go ahead and do it, while I realize there are some implementation issues that we would have to work with them on. And I was glad to work with him on that but that the United States wanted very much to be close to the Ukraine. We have a big stake in their success, and we've got a lot of commercial potential there and they here, as well as a lot of ties. We have a lot of Ukrainian-Americans, as you know. But I think this START Treaty is a precondition to a long-term, successful relationship. And I think they should go into the nonproliferation regime and give up nuclear weapons. We don't need any more nuclear states. The United States is trying to reduce our nuclear arsenals, and we need to continue to push in that direction. It was a very good meeting. And I think over the long run, the United States will have a good relationship with Ukraine if we get the START issue resolved.”