The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release June 17, 1996
Remarks By President Clinton
And President Clerides Of Cyprus
In Photo Opportunity
The Oval Office
11:30 A.M. Edt
President Clinton: Let me begin by saying how pleased I
am that President Clerides is here. We want to discuss how the
United States can help to promote a settlement that is fair and
peaceful in Cyprus and what we can do in that regard. I intend to
ask my Special Emissary, Richard Beattie, to go back to the region
soon to explore further actions that the United States can take.
With regard to the elections in Russia, first, the
United States applauds the fact that there was an election that, as
far as we can tell, not only had a substantially high turnout, but
was a free and fairly-conducted one. We now look forward to the next
stage, the run-off between President Yeltsin and Mr. Zyuganov. We
reaffirm our support for democracy and for market reforms. And we
will be watching the development of events with great interest.
But this is a very significant thing for Russia to have
this election. This had never happened before in a thousand years,
where they elected a leader, and then they're going to have another
election. And the Russian people are to be complimented, and the
Russian leadership is to be complimented for supporting their
constitution and the electoral process. And we very much hope that
Russia will continue to support democracy and reform.
With regard to China, as all of you know, we have been
involved in an intellectual property rights dispute with China, which
has cost a lot of money and jobs to the United States. I am pleased
that a good agreement has been reached with the Chinese which will
protect intellectual property rights and avoid sanctions and allow us
to go forward in ways that will be good for the relationship between
the United States and China and good for the interest of American
jobs and American businesses. I think this proves that staying
involved and engaged with the Chinese through the difficult times as
well as the good ones is the right course of action, and I am pleased
with what's happened.
I'd like to make one final comment, if I might. I'm
appalled, along with all Americans, that this wave of church burnings
has continued. My heart goes out to the people in North Carolina and
Georgia who are affected. I am very much looking forward to the
meeting on Wednesday with the governors and the attorneys general and
some other officials from the states affected, and I intend to
continue to work to involve more people in this and to search for all
the options at our disposal to try to resolve this matter.
But the -- we need every person from every walk of life
and all faiths in America to speak up against this. And the American
people need to search their hearts about this. This has got to stop.
This has got to stop. There is not a country in the history of the
world that has valued religious liberty and valued religious
expression more than the United States. This tears at the very heart
of what it means to be an American. And I intend to keep working on
it until we get some resolution of it.
Q Mr. President, are you surprised that the vote in
Russia was as close as it was? Do find that threatening in any way
the course of U.S.-Russian relations?
President Clinton: No. President Yeltsin got about the
vote he was predicted to get in the polls and Mr. Zyuganov got more
than he was predicted to get in the polls. But polling is inexact.
And I think the main thing is there seems to have been a heavy of
majority of people who voted for the democratic process and for the
path of reform. And that's good news.
Q have you spoken to President Yeltsin, Mr.
President, or do you plan to after the voting?
President Clinton: I have not. I hope that we get a
chance to talk. He's obviously got a lot of fish to fry right now
and he will be doing a number of things over the next couple of days.
But I'm hopeful that we will have a chance to talk. I want to
congratulate him on the election, not only on the showing, the strong
showing that he made, but also on the fact that he really supported
the constitution, he supported the institution of the electoral
process. And the very fact that it occurred in such a vigorous
fashion I think is a real credit to him, as much as any other single
person in Russia. And probably more than any other single person, he
wanted Russia to be a free country that picked it leaders by
elections. So he's got two reasons to be happy today.
Q Mr. President, can we ask you about Whitewater
draft report -- could we ask you about that? The Whitewater --
President Clinton: I have no comment.
Q -- about the leak over the weekend?
Q Are you concerned about these leaks?
Q -- about the report itself, sir?
President Clinton: That's just standard practice.
* * * * *
President Clinton: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Let me begin by saying how glad I am to have the President here and
how much I look forward to a discussion with him. Our bilateral
relations are in excellent shape, I believe, and I believe they'll
get stronger as time goes on. I'm anxious to see if there's anything
else the United States can do to support a settlement of the matters
in Cyprus in a way that is fair to all concerned. I'm going to ask
my Special Emissary, Richard Beattie, to go back to the region in the
next few weeks to see what else we can do, and I want the President
to give me some guidance about what he thinks we can do in this
regard. But I'm glad that he's here, and I'm looking forward to
having a chance to visit with him.
Q Mr. President, do you think instability in Turkey
pose trouble for the Cyprus initiative and also for the Aegean?
President Clinton: The instability?
Q The domestic instability in Turkey.
President Clinton: Well, it's difficult for any
government that's not settled to make agreements, because agreements
normally require some concessions by all concerned. And we hope that
Turkey will be able to resolve it's internal problems and establish a
strong government that can effectively enter into agreement with it's
neighbors.
Q Mr. President, will you still intend to keep your
promise that 1996 will be the year for Cyprus?
President Clinton: Well, we're doing what we can. But
we -- the United States cannot control all the events in the region.
If it were up to us, we would have had a peace and resolution of this
a long time ago. And we'll do what we can to be a positive force
there.
Q Mr. President, do you consider the ongoing tension
between Greece and Turkey as a problem towards a Cyprus solution?
President Clinton: I think it is a problem toward the
Cyprus solution, and I think it is a problem generally. And both
Greece and Turkey have been allies of the United States through Nato
and generally, and we would like to see the tensions between the two
countries lessened. We think there would be enormous benefits not
only to the Greeks and the Turks, but to the solution of other
problems in the area. And we will continue to do what we can in that
regard. And I think as the situation clarifies itself in Turkey we
may be able to do more in the years -- in the months ahead. But we
will use the months remaining in 1996 to do what we can to help
resolve the Cyprus issue and to help resolve the tensions between the
two countries.
Q Do you take a position on the Turkish questioning
of the sovereignty?
President Clinton: Do you want to say anything to your
own press? I think the President should be able to talk. Come on.
President Clerides: As you all know, I'm here at the
invitation of President Clinton. And I wish to take this opportunity
to express my appreciation and thanks for the interest the President
is showing in helping to promote a solution to the Cyprus problem.
We have a variety of issues to discuss, and I think this discussion
should be carried out without the press. So that's all I have to
say.
Q Mr. President, one last question. Do you take a
position on Turkish questioning of sovereignty over Greek islands,
Mr. President?
President Clinton: No more questions.
The Press: Thank you.
End 11:40 A.M. Edt