Bill Clinton: “No, I'm not changing my policy on landmines. I have been working very hard to try to reach agreement with the parties in…”

“No, I'm not changing my policy on landmines. I have been working very hard to try to reach agreement with the parties in Oslo. But I would like to remind everybody here of a few facts. I believe that I was the first world leader to call for an end to the landmines that are killing so many innocent people around the world. The United States does not produce, sell, or deploy these mines, and we are destroying them. With the single exception of Korea--everyone in the world recognizes that Korea is a special problem because of the number of North Korean troops that are very close to Seoul. And we have been working with the people in Oslo to try to get an extended period of time to deal with that. Now, there is another issue that relates to our antitank mines, which are slightly different from other countries, which also involve destruction devices that automatically go dead within a matter of hours or days. We're trying to work through these things. But the United States has done more than any other country to bring an end to landmines. We have spent $150 million in the last 4 years in demining work. We are missing an airplane off the coast of Africa that deposited a demining team in Africa to continue this work. So we have not taken a back seat to anyone. But we have to make sure that our fundamental responsibilities through the United Nations for Korea, and to our own troops in terms of antitank mines, which are legal under this treaty, can be maintained. And we're working on it. I don't want to discuss the state of play because I'm not quite sure what it is. But we have another day or so to try to work through this. The United States would like to be a signatory to this agreement, but I have to be sure that we can fulfill our responsibilities and protect our troops.”