One year ago in Dayton, the leaders of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia turned from the horror of war to the promise of peace. Their historic decision came after nearly four years of horrible bloodshed, the bloodiest conflict Europe has seen since World War II; after a quarter million deaths, after 2 million people were made refugees, after countless atrocities that shocked the conscience of the world.

I really appreciate all of you gathering here today to talk with us about something that is very important and near and dear to my heart. Some of you who have accompanied me on some of our overseas trips know that we have visited microenterprise projects and you have seen for yourselves some of the potential that those projects hold for transforming the lives of men and women and children. And I greatly appreciate the continued interest of those of you who have been with me on these trips and the new interest of others of you.

Alternate Representative of the Chinese delegation Li Baodong on April 1 urged the United States to return to the road of dialogue and cooperation by putting an end to all actions of confrontation.

Well, I will reiterate American policy on that. Our policy is that the SFOR mission should be completed by June of ‘98, and we expect it to be. But to answer your first question, which is the far more important one, I made it very clear that I think that we have all made a terrible mistake in dealing with Bosnia to spend all of our time focusing on June of ‘98 instead of focusing on tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and the day after that.

Over the last few months the OSCE has worked intensively with the Albanian political parties to resolve the crisis in Albania.

The EU has noted that a significant number of the local election results in urban centers [of the Former Republic of Yugoslavia] have been set aside and will be re-run in a third round of voting. The EU has also noted opposition allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the elections in a number of municipalities and particularly in the town of Nis.

As a part of a broader effort to build a new Atlantic Community and a new Transatlantic Marketplace, the United States and European Union have sought to strengthen its partnership to improve their security and prosperity for the 21st century. Today, the United States and European Union announced several initiatives to strengthen their cooperation and partnership on several major fronts.

Well, first, let me emphasize something. You should never believe that just because you don't see high-level air transport between Washington and the Middle East that nothing is going on from our point of view. We spend—I spend quite a bit of time on this every single week. And I'm very concerned about what's happened.

An Act to support the autonomous governance of Hong Kong after its reversion to the People's Republic of China.

Obviously, he has been sick, and we have been following this very closely. We wish him well in his recovery. He has been very important in terms of pursuing democratic reforms, economic reforms in Russia. The Yeltsin-Chernomyrdin Government is one that is on the right track, and we are working with them. As you know, Strob Talbott and Leon Fuerth have just returned from some good meetings, getting ready for the Gore-Chernomyrdin meeting.

U.S. objectives in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia, are very much on my mind. Tomorrow, I will leave for Malaysia for the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, better known as ASEAN. While in Kuala Lumpur, and later in Singapore, I will discuss a full range of issues with my regional counterparts.

The Governments of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Czech Republic Recalling the Treaty of 27 February 1992 on Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic with which Germans and Czechs reached out to each other, Mindful of the long history of fruitful and peaceful, good-neighborly relations between Germans and Czechs during which a rich and continuing cultural heritage was created, Convinced that injustice inflicted in the past cannot be undone but at best alleviated, and that in doing so no new injustice must arise, Aware that the Federal Republic of Germany strongly supports the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance because it is convinced that this is in their common interest.

Thank you very much. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to return to the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal and to visit with Chief Prosecutor Arbour, who also heads up the prosecution for the Rwanda War Crimes Tribunal.

Pursuant to section 1048 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997, I transmit herewith a report on the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

We, the Heads of State or Government of the participating States of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, have met in Lisbon to assess the situation in the OSCE region and to establish a co-operative foundation for our common security. As we approach the new century, it is more important than ever that we build together a peaceful OSCE region where all our nations and individuals feel secure.

No. That decision was taken by the President several months ago. It was a decision, really a prospective decision. The President felt that he could not provide the new leadership for the U.N. unless there was a change in the U.N. Secretary General.

We are deeply concerned at the violence and loss of life caused by the conflict between security forces loyal to the two Prime Ministers. We call on the authorities to take decisive measures to prevent further violence. We urge Cambodia's leaders to resolve their political differences peacefully and to abide by the principles of the Paris Peace Accords.

I'm pleased today to release officially the State Department's Annual Country Report on Human Rights. These reports reflect the American people's commitment to high standardsof respect for human dignity and freedom for all people.

The Duke of Edinburgh and I look forward to receiving State Visits by His Excellency the President of Brazil in December and by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan next year. We also look forward to our visit to Canada and to our State Visits to Pakistan and India.

The United States is deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in Albania. We appeal to all Albanians to help end the acts of violence, which only exacerbate the difficulties in which Albania finds itself in the wake of the collapse of pyramid investment schemes.