Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to visit here in Bonn for the first time and to be the…”

“Thank you very much. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to visit here in Bonn for the first time and to be the first American President to come here since the fall of the Wall and the unification of Germany. I also want to say, I appreciate very much having the opportunity to see Chancellor Kohl again and to build on the work that we have just done at the G-7 Summit at Naples. The relationship between Germany and America in the last several decades has been truly unique in history. And the Chancellor and I both hold our offices at a moment of historic opportunity. The walls between nations are coming down; bridges between nations are coming up. The integration of Europe, strongly supported by the United States, is well underway. We know from our experience how half of Europe was integrated through NATO and other institutions that built stability after World War II. We marvel at the leadership of Chancellor Kohl and his fellow Germans who came from West and East and who have now made their nation whole, who are working so hard to revive the economy, not only of Europe but of the entire globe. At the heart of our discussion today was what we have to do to integrate Europe's other half, the new independent nations of Central and Eastern Europe, Poland, the Baltic countries, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, the others. We noted how American and Russian forces will soon leave places in Germany where they have been since 1945. We discussed how important it is to expand joint military exercises with our allies through the Partnership For Peace. But we also recognize that trade, as much as troops, will increasingly define the ties that bind nations in the 21st century. We discussed how new institutions and relationships must be built on even broader stability in the wake of the aftermath of the cold war. We discussed how new institutions and relationships must build even stronger stability after the cold war, institutions such as the European Union whose presidency Germany has recently assumed, the World Trade Organization, and of course, the Partnership For Peace. As we build on the work we did in Naples and look to next year in Halifax, the economic, cultural, and security bonds between Germany and the United States will grow stronger. The Chancellor and I will continue to do everything we can to make the microphones work--[laughter]--and to integrate the newly independent countries of Europe into shared security with their neighbors, helping them to reform their economies, attract new investment, claim their place at the table with free and friendly nations of like mind. Let me say again how much I personally appreciate the working relationship I have enjoyed with Chancellor Kohl and the partnership that has existed for so long now between Germany and the United States. As we look forward to further progress in integrating Europe, in dealing with the difficulties in Bosnia--and we hope that peace will be made there--I think it is clear that to imagine any of these things working out over the long run, the German-American partnership will have to be maintained and strengthened, and I am confident that it will be. German Leadership”