Bill Clinton: “Let me begin by saying that I and the leaders of my administration team here have just finished a very important meeting…”

“Let me begin by saying that I and the leaders of my administration team here have just finished a very important meeting with the congressional delegation. We are here in Madrid on an historic mission, to fashion a new NATO for a new Europe that is undivided for the first time in history, for a new century. And that new NATO will include new members, new missions, and new ties to countries, including the very important one we concluded last month with Russia and the one we will solidify here with Ukraine. For the United States to do its part, the Congress is obviously key for several reasons: First, any attempt to expand NATO to admit new members must be ratified by the Congress; secondly, while we expect the costs to be modest, it is not a free decision because of the costs of integrating new countries into the military planning and operations of NATO; and third, because we believe that the policy itself requires that we keep an open door to the prospect of other democracies coming in, and that is something that clearly would have to be supported by the Congress. The Members have made it clear to me that while we have representatives here from both Chambers and both parties, indicating that the United States understands that it's important that we be united on the question of Europe, we have a ways to go to convince the American people of the momentous importance of the decisions we're making here and the need for them to support it. And that is a job that I intend to take on when I go home, and I look forward to having the support of as many Members as possible for fulfilling it. But the fact that this delegation, from both parties and both Chambers of Congress, is here is very important. And the leader of the delegation, Senator Roth, who has been very active in these matters for years, will also address the summit, and I am very grateful for that. Senator, would you like to say anything? Senator Roth. Well, thank you, Mr. President. This is indeed a historic moment, and the reason I say it's an historic moment is that here we are, sitting together, Republicans and Democrats, urging the expansion of NATO. And why expand NATO now? The reason for doing that is peace and security. We want to fill a vacuum in Eastern Europe. We want to give Eastern, Central Europe the same opportunity we helped give Western Europe, to democratize and reform for freedom. And I think that the fact that we're here together in a bipartisan spirit shows the importance of the matter. And the fact is that a undivided Europe, democratic, is the best chance for peace in our time.”