Remarks Welcoming Prime Minister John Major of the United Kingdom in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Thank you very much, Senator Wofford, Congressman Coyne, Mayor Murphy, Commissioners Foerster and Flaherty, and my friends. I'm glad to be back in Pittsburgh. I want to thank the band for their wonderful music and the Scouts for your fine salute and your fine work, thank you. And I want you to join me in welcoming Prime Minister John Major back to the United States of America.

It's funny how this trip came about. Last July in Tokyo of all places, John Major and I were sitting around at night talking, and he said, "You know, my grandfather worked in the steel mills in Pittsburgh, and my father lived and worked here a while in the late 1800's before moving back to England." So I thought the next time John Major came to the United States, he ought to see America and come to Pittsburgh.

I want to emphasize to all of you here in the heartland of America how important the relationship between the United States and Great Britain is. We worked together to support reform in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war, in Russia and in all those other former Communist states, to try to give democracy a chance. We worked together for a new world trade agreement to bring down trade barriers and open world markets to the products that American workers make. We worked together to make NATO stronger and more adaptable, to reach out to all those nations in the former Communist world and give them a chance to work with us to unify Europe in peace and democracy, in ways that will make America a safer and more prosperous place for decades to come. We're working together today to respond to the terrible tragedy in Bosnia, to try to bring an end to the killing and to bring peace and to keep that conflict from spreading in ways that could threaten the interests of the United States and Great Britain as well as the conscience of the civilized world.

And we do have a great partnership, as Senator Wofford noted, right here in Pittsburgh between British Air and USAir. It's been a good thing for the people of this town. Tomorrow we'll have a chance to talk about that and talk about some of the other tough issues that we face—the state of reform in Russia. The Prime Minister and I have both been in Moscow in the last couple of months. A struggle over the future of reform in Russia is underway. We have a vital stake in the outcome. We have to continue to encourage democracy, respect for neighbors, and real economic reform in that country. It's in your interest and mine.

We also hope we can continue to press for peace in Bosnia. Britain is the second largest contributor to the United Nations troop effort in Bosnia, and over the last year, I want to say to all of you that the British have saved thousands of innocent civilians' lives there by their presence. We intend to continue working with them until we get a just and fair peace in Bosnia.

We're going to discuss what we want to do with NATO. We're going to discuss the political courage and the vision shown by Prime Minister Major and Prime Minister Reynolds of Ireland in working toward peace in Northern Ireland together. Their historic joint declaration offers new hope for that goal of peace. And as the President of this country, a country full of Americans of British descent and full of Americans of Irish descent, I again urge an end to the use of violence as a means of solving political problems and achieving political aims. It has no place in that effort.

The next time I see John Major after this trip, I'll be visiting Britain in June to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-day and to affirm for a new generation of Britons and Americans the importance of our enduring partnership. We must continue to build on it, economically, politically, strategically. We have benefited immensely from our ties to Britain, and they have benefited from their ties to us. We are working together in ways that I think will benefit the children in this audience. The agreement on world trade concluded at the end of last year is perhaps the most concrete recent example of what we are trying to do for future generations.

In the months and years ahead, we'll have to continue to work on our issues of common concern. Not very long from now, we're going to have a jobs conference with Great Britain and other European powers in Detroit to discuss the difficulties that the United States and all the powers of Europe and Japan are all having creating new jobs in this difficult global environment and what things we can learn from each other to create more opportunities for all of our people.

Well, now I'm going to introduce the Prime Minister and say, after he speaks, we're going to look around Pittsburgh.

When John Major's grandfather and father were here, this city was the heart of America's industrial might. Today, it's the center of its high technology and economic innovation. It's a city of the future as well as a city with a past. And so in the spirit of renewal that is the story of Pittsburgh today, I ask you to join me in reaffirming the bonds between the American and the British people in welcoming to the microphone the Prime Minister of Great Britain, John Major.