Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on President Bush's Telephone Conversation With President Alfredo Cristiani Buckard of El Salvador

The President today telephoned Salvadoran President Alfredo Cristiani to tell him that we have been following closely the events in El Salvador and that we stand behind the Salvadoran Government in the face of recent FMLN [Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front] attacks. The President said that the FMLN bears full responsibility for this tragedy and that he wanted to express the solidarity of the American people for the great suffering in San Salvador and elsewhere.

The President commended the efforts of the Salvadoran Armed Forces to avoid causing casualties to the civilian population. He also said that the United States would continue to speak out about Cuban and Nicaraguan support for the FMLN guerrillas, which flies in the face of the Esquipulas peace process.

President Cristiani thanked the President for his support. He said that the Armed Forces were having increasing success against the guerrillas and that the Government would continue to give the highest priority to protecting the civilian population in military operations against those guerrillas that remained.