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Washington -- President Clinton called the U.S.-Baltic Partnership Charter "a living document" in a meeting with the three Baltic presidents January 16. The White House characterized the meeting as "upbeat and forward-looking." The Charter, signed by President Clinton and the three Baltic presidents the same day, creates new structures to give further dynamism to U.S.-Baltic cooperation: bilateral economic working groups -- to parallel the already existing bilateral defense working groups -- and a quadrilateral Partnership Commission, headed on the U.S. side by Deputy Secretary of State Talbott, that will meet annually to assess overall progress, according to the White House press release. "President Clinton applauded Baltic efforts to strengthen their democracies and to promote harmony and human dignity within their societies and announced the establishment of a $15 million Baltic-American Partnership Fund that will promote the further development of civic society," the release stated. As reported previously, the endowment is funded jointly by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and international philanthropist George Soros. Following is the text of the White House press release: The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release January 16, 1998
Statement by the Press Secretary: President Clinton's meeting today with the three Baltic Presidents was upbeat and forward-looking. They discussed the importance of the Charter of Partnership as an affirmation of their commitment to common principles and the advancement of Baltic integration into the European and transatlantic communities. The President underscored that the Charter is a living document and its implementation has already begun. The Charter creates new structures to give further dynamism to U.S.-Baltic cooperation: bilateral economic working groups -- to parallel the already existing bilateral defense working groups -- and a quadrilateral Partnership Commission, headed on the U.S. side by Deputy Secretary of State Talbott, that will meet annually to assess overall progress. President Clinton applauded Baltic efforts to strengthen their democracies and to promote harmony and human dignity within their societies. In a concrete contribution to these efforts, the President announced the establishment of a $15 million Baltic-American Partnership Fund that will promote the further development of civic society. The President also lauded Baltic cooperation with all their neighbors. He welcomed Baltic efforts to improve relations with Russia, as demonstrated by the recent Lithuanian-Russian border agreement on Kaliningrad. The four presidents discussed developments in Northeastern Europe, and President Clinton affirmed that the United States stands ready to become even more involved in regional cooperation. President Clinton emphasized that NATO's door would remain open to the Baltic states and offered concrete support to their efforts to join all the cornerstone organizations of the transatlantic community. Return to Global Beat Home Page Nuclear Watch | East Asian Security | Economic & Monetary Union | NATO Expansion | Nuclear Weapons and Proliferation | U.S. Defense Policy | Publications | Events | |
