THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release October 26,
2000
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
I applaud today?s decision by the members of the Stability Pact to
welcome the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a new member. Last month the
people of Yugoslavia spoke clearly in support of democratic change. The
response today from the international community is just as clear. We will
stand with the new democratic government as it pursues economic and
political reform, meets its international obligations, and works with
neighboring countries to promote lasting stability throughout the region.
We helped launch the Stability Pact last year with a common
understanding that an undivided, democratic and peaceful Europe will be a
reality only when the countries of Southeast Europe are integrated with the
rest of the continent. To achieve this goal, the governments of the region
are pressing ahead with reforms, the international community is supporting
the region?s economic development and integration, and the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia can now play its own indispensable role in that effort.
At previous Stability Pact conferences, we invited participation by
the political opposition in Serbia and by the democratic government in the
Republic of Montenegro, both of which had the courage to stand up to the
violence and corruption of the Milosevic regime. But we always kept open a
chair for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Now the dramatic changes in
Belgrade allow the chair for Yugoslavia to be filled. This is a major step
towards realizing our shared vision of a region committed to peace, to
healing the wounds of war, and to taking its place in a peaceful, undivided
and democratic Europe.
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