Jimmy Carter

It was a mistake on my part.

There is no doubt that the friendship between ourselves and Poland, ourselves and India, ourselves and Saudi Arabia, ourselves and Iran, ourselves and Egypt, ourselves and France and Belgium were enhanced.

We never want to see this happen again.

I know that the security of our alliance is the rock on which that hope is built.

I am happy to renew my invitation to the alliance to hold that meeting in Washington on May 30 and 31.

Now, Brussels is the home of institutions such as the European Community, and NATO represents our shared hope for a secure and peaceful and a prosperous future.

The open demonstration of mutual commitment for the future of the ideals and principles of our two nations has indeed been reassuring to us and, I believe, even to the rest of the world.

I want to express my personal thanks to your great President and to the wonderful people of France.

I think the Curtain is being parted.

When we are clean and decent they are pleased.

We are determined, with our noble allies here, that Europe's freedom will never again be endangered.

It is indeed a great honor for me, as President of the United States, to come here to pay homage to the brave men and women of the past who have ensured our precious freedom today.

The Egyptian-Israeli peace initiative must succeed, while still guarding the sacred and historic principles held by the nations who have suffered so much in this region.

One of my most valued possessions is the warm, personal relationship which binds me and President Sadat together.

My presence here today is a direct result of the courageous initiative which President Sadat undertook in his recent trip to Jerusalem.

Americans will forever remember the crucial assistance which Lafayette and the French nation gave us during those painful and dangerous days of our own national birth.

Tomorrow, with President Giscard d'Estaing, I will leave Paris and visit the beaches at Normandy.

Democracy is indeed a compelling idea, an idea so attractive that even its enemies now attempt to cloak repression with false democratic labels.

We know that the mark of greatness among leaders is to consider carefully the views of others and the greater benefits that can result among the people of all nations which can come from a successful search for peace.

It is an honor and a pleasure for us to be in this great country, led by such a strong and courageous man.

I hope and believe that in the future the ties between France and the United States of America will grow even stronger.

The relationship between our people is special and rare because it has largely been an alliance of ideals.

Our ancestors made their defense with principles and with revolution.

India, under the greatest trial and tension, has reaffirmed its commitment to rule by the people.

We do not fear the challenges which test our chosen form of government.