Bill Clinton: “Balladares of Panama and an Exchange With Reporters July 20, 1994 President Clinton. First, I'd like to welcome the…”

“Balladares of Panama and an Exchange With Reporters July 20, 1994 President Clinton. First, I'd like to welcome the President-elect of Panama and congratulate Mr. Perez Balladares on his election and on the successful democratic transition in Panama. I also want to thank him for his interest in the Summit of the Americas and his interest in exercising a leadership role in helping us to work on money laundering, drug trafficking, and a lot of the international criminal problems that we face together. And finally I'd like to thank him for his willingness to help us to establish some safe havens for people who are leaving Haiti. All these things, I think, augur well for his strong leadership not only within Panama but throughout the hemisphere, and I'm looking forward to this meeting. Haiti Q. Mr. President, Congressman Richardson is saying that General Cedras is not intransigent, that he's realistic, indeed, that he wants to talk; whereas William Gray is saying time for talking is over, there's nothing to talk about except ``When are you going to leave?'' Who do you agree with, if either of them? And should the U.S. be talking to Cedras? President Clinton. You have to ask Mr. Gray about that. But the issue is, if he wants to talk about when he's going to leave, then I'm sure that somebody would talk to him. But they have usurped power. They agreed to go in the Governors Island Agreement, Mr. Cedras and the others; they have not gone, and they must go. That's our position. Q.…”