President, Secretary of State call on Senate to set example, vote on CTBT
President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright urged the Senate to act quickly on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test- Ban Treaty. The President and the Secretary spoke in the Rose Garden Wednesday prior to the Secretary’s departure to Geneva, where she met with the foreign ministers of the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council on the situation in South Asia. President Clinton said, “The nuclear tests by India and Pakistan stand in stark contrast to the progress the world has made over the past several years in reducing stockpiles and containing the spread of nuclear weapons.” The President detailed steps taken to reduce nuclear arsenals in the United States and the former Soviet Union, including the removal of nuclear weapons from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. He also noted that Brazil, Argentina and South Africa had voluntarily renounced their nuclear programs. He continued:		“And to date, 149 nations have signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which bans all nuclear explosions, making it more difficult for nuclear powers to produce more advanced weapons and for non-nuclear states to develop them. “Two years ago, I was the first to sign this treaty at the United Nations on behalf of the United States. The present situation in South Asia makes it all the more important that the Senate debate and vote on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty without delay. The CTBT will strengthen our ability to detect and to deter testing. If we are calling on other nations to act responsibly, America must set the example.” Secretary Albright said, “We will ... be urging India and Pakistan to sign the CTBT now and without conditions, to stop producing fissile material, and to agree on a process for regional arms control. The NPT will not be amended to accommodate either country. We will, however, consider measures to help them maintain peace,

and we will stand ready to help them resolve their differences through dialogue. “Finally, we will affirm our resolve to bolster the global nonproliferation regime. And this means taking steps to discourage other countries from following the disastrous examples set by India and Pakistan. And in addition, as President Clinton has just indicated, for the

United States, this means urging the Senate very strongly to approve the CTBT. If we want India and Pakistan to stop testing and keep others from starting, this is the most basic, minimal, obvious step we can take on this critical issue at this perilous time. American leadership should be unambiguous, decisive and clear.”