At the request of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat, President Clinton and Secretary Albright have decided to send Dennis Ross back to the region to help narrow the differences between the parties. Ambassador Ross will travel the beginning of next week, to spend a few days in the area, and then report back to the President and Secretary on the chances of the parties reaching agreement on the basis of the U.S. initiative.

Secretary-General Aragona, Chairman Kobieracki, Ambassador Johnson, distinguished colleagues: I am very pleased to speak with you on behalf of the United States.

I have just finished a trip that gave me a chance to address some of the most pressing, practical challenges to democracy and stability in Europe. What I want to do today is to talk about some of these challenges, and then to discuss the role the OSCE can play in helping us meet them.

The debate over the role of the IMF and the way it is fulfilling its task is a wholly legitimate debate. We need to be held accountable, we need our mission to be understood—all these things are understandable. This is part of the process in any democratic country.

The subject that I want to discuss—let me just say one thing in advance—I'm going to give you my best thoughts. We have been working on this for three years at some level of intensity or another, going back to the Naples G-7 meeting in the aftermath of the Mexican financial crisis. I have done everything I could do personally to reach out across the country, and indeed across the world, for any new ideas from any source. I'm going to give you my best thinking today about what we can do, but I want you to know that I'm here, and if I had my druthers, this would be about a three-hour session where I'd give this talk and then I would listen for the rest of the time.

I think the day's gone pretty well. It's not an easy time here. They're obviously going through a lot of questioning about the direction of their government. President Clinton is delivering a very strong message about the need to stay with a reform program, understanding that it's not easy and that they have to make the tough decisions. The United States is there at Russia's side, but they're the ones that have to make the hard decisions. That has really characterized the day, Wolf.

Good afternoon. Secretary Cohen and I are very pleased to welcome Foreign Minister Komura and State Minister for Defense Nukaga to New York. Today's session of the U.S.Japan Security Consultative Committee, better known as the “two-plus-two,” is one of a series of high-level meetings we will have this week, including President Clinton's summit with Prime Minister Obuchi on Tuesday.

The Secretary General is pleased that the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina this past weekend took place in a peaceful atmosphere. He is encouraged by the high level of participation in the elections, which underscores the interest of the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina in participating in the democratic process. The Secretary General looks forward to the full and prompt implementation of the official results of the elections and hopes that the elected leaders of Bosnia will look to the future and respect fully the Dayton Peace Agreement.

I have no idea. I think that Scott Ritter has his piece of the story. He was a good inspector; I’m not going to criticize him. However, he doesn't have a clue about what our overall policy has been. We are the foremost supporter of UNSCOM; we have directed— have inspired, really, more inspections than anybody else. If it weren't for the United States—and I must say, me, personally—I doubt very much that the sanctions regime would be in place as strongly as it is.

The Secretary-General is following very closely and with deep concern developments in Cambodia, in particular the weekend's events, including the grenade attack on the residence of Hun Sen, Sam Rainsy's taking refuge in the Office of the Secretary-General's Personal Representative in Cambodia (OSGPRC), and the forcible dispersal of demonstrations and sit-ins. As of this morning, Sam Rainsy was still in that office. The Secretary-General regrets the loss of life in these events.