[EXCERPTS] REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER
JEAN CHRETIEN OF CANADA IN JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY
THE WHITE HOUSE April 8, 1997 The Rose Garden
........
Q: Mr. Prime Minister, a number of experts at Harvard and elsewhere in
the world say that the risk is increasing every day of nuclear leakage
or nuclear smuggling out of Russia, which conceivably could lead to a
nuclear terrorist attack somewhere in North American. In view of that
mounting risk, wouldn't it be better to postpone NATO enlargement for
a couple of years, continue with the Partnership for Peace and make
sure that, continue with the Partnership for Peace, and make sure that
denuclearization has taken full root in Russia with START II and START
III?
PRIME MINISTER CHRETIEN: I don't think that you can link the two. I
think that the expansion of NATO is something that is on the table
since a long time, because when those countries decided to become
democracy- and market-oriented, we told them that we were to accept
them in NATO. And we have to deliver on the word we gave to them, and
I compliment the President for the work he has done on that. He has
had -- he approached Mr. Yeltsin in a very practical way, in a very
firm way, but in an understanding way, and we're very hopeful that
NATO will be expanded this summer.
THE PRESIDENT: I'd also like to comment on that, because I believe
that Russia has a big interest in preserving the security of its
nuclear stockpiles, and they have worked with us in good faith hard
now for years to try to dismantle the nuclear arsenals. One of the
important agreements we've made here to try to get the START III
agreement in force was also to make sure that we were actually
destroying the weapons as well as dismantling them, and we have been
working since I've been here very hard in a mutual and cooperative way
with the Russians to ensure the security of those nuclear materials.
Yes, as long as they're in existence, I suppose there is some risk
that someone will try to pilfer them. We've had instances of that
before in the last few years, but if we work at it and we work
together with them, I think we're likely to succeed. But I do not
believe that the Russians have any greater desire than we do to see
any of this material stolen or put into the hands of the wrong people.
I think they have a deep, vested interest in them.
.....
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