Political Quotes

“Let me say, this all came about--and they are, obviously, as usual, very good, incisive and insightful questions. I think it is unnecessary because I think it is a given. But let me explain, in fairness, why we got to this point and why I thought it was--speaking only for myself--a clarification, although in some sense I thought it was a demeaning clarification. Let me explain. During the negotiations on the flank agreement, there was concern about what became referred to as a ``side agreement.'' That was, there was an issue that came up during the negotiations where a diplomatic note was passed, which is classified--I am not able to give you, but I can tell you from the committee testimony what it said--a note that was passed to the Russian representative dealing with the issue of the stationing of Russian troops on the soil of the countries you named. The Under Secretary of State, Lynn Davis, who appeared before the committee on April 29, was asked to explain. He went on to explain why a statement was made to the Russians.…”