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THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary
                         (New York, New York)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                      March 3, 1998

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

      Welcoming Strong Senate Foreign Relations Committee Support
                         for NATO Enlargement

I welcome today's strong endorsement by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for admitting Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to NATO. By adding these countries as our newest allies, we will make NATO stronger, Europe more stable and America more secure.

The United States has led the way in building an undivided, democratic, peaceful Europe. I hope we will be among the first to ratify NATO's historic enlargement. I look forward to the full Senate vote on this issue in the weeks ahead.

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