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Originally Processed With FOIA(s): FOIA Number: S 2011-2184-F FOIA MARKER This is not a textual record. This is used as an administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential Library Staff. Record Group/Collection: George H.W. Bush Presidential Records Collection/Office of Origin: Speechwriting, White House Office of Series: Speech File Draft Files Subseries: Chron File, 1989-1993 OA/ID Number: 13489 Folder ID Number: 13489-007 Folder Title: Rheingoldhalle, Germany 5/31/89 [3] Stack: Row: Section: Shelf: Position: G 26 15 7 5 IF ANCIENT RIVALS LIKE BRITAIN AND FRANCE, OR FRANCE AND GERMANY, CAN RECONCILE, THEN WHY NOT THE NATIONS OF EAST AND WEST? IN THE EAST, BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN ARE SHOWING US THE WAY. LOOK AT POLAND, WHERE SOLIDARITY AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVE WON LEGAL STATUS. THE FORCES OF FREEDOM ARE PUTTING THE SOVIET STATUS QUO ON THE DEFENSIVE. -6- IN THE WEST, WE HAVE SUCCEEDED BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL TO OUR VALUES AND OUR VISION. BUT, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RUSTING IRON CURTAIN, THEIR VISION FAILED. THE COLD WAR BEGAN WITH THE DIVISION OF EUROPE. IT CAN ONLY END WHEN EUROPE IS WHOLE. TODAY, IT IS THIS VERY CONCEPT OF A DIVIDED EUROPE THAT IS UNDER SIEGE. AND THAT IS WHY OUR HOPES RUN ESPECIALLY HIGH, BECAUSE THE DIVISION OF EUROPE IS UNDER SIEGE NOT BY ARMIES, BUT BY THE SPREAD OF IDEAS THAT BEGAN HERE, RIGHT HERE. IT WAS A SON OF MAINZ, JOHANNES (YO-HAN-NES) GUTENBERG (GOOT-TEN-BERG), WHO LIBERATED THE MIND OF MAN THROUGH THE POWER OF THE PRINTED WORD. -7- THAT SAME LIBERATING POWER IS UNLEASHED TODAY IN A HUNDRED NEW FORMS. THE VOICE OF AMERICA AND DEUTSCHE WELLE (DOY-CHA VELLA) ALLOW US TO ENLIGHTEN MILLIONS DEEP WITHIN EASTERN EUROPE AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. TELEVISION SATELLITES ALLOW US TO BEAR WITNESS FROM THE SHIPYARDS OF GDANSK, TO TIANANMEN SQUARE. BUT THE MOMENTUM FOR FREEDOM DOES NOT JUST COME FROM THE PRINTED WORD, THE TRANSISTOR, OR THE TELEVISION SCREEN. IT COMES FROM THE POWER OF A SINGLE IDEA -- DEMOCRACY. THIS ONE IDEA IS SWEEPING ACROSS EURASIA. THIS ONE IDEA IS WHY THE COMMUNIST WORLD, FROM BUDAPEST TO BEIJING, IS IN FERMENT. OF COURSE, FOR THE LEADERS OF THE EAST, IT IS NOT JUST FREEDOM FOR FREEDOM'S SAKE. BUT WHATEVER THEIR MOTIVATION, THEY ARE UNLEASHING A FORCE THEY WILL FIND DIFFICULT TO CHANNEL OR CONTROL -- THE HUNGER FOR LIBERTY OF OPPRESSED PEOPLES WHO HAVE TASTED FREEDOM. -8- NOWHERE IS THIS MORE APPARENT THAN IN EASTERN EUROPE, THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE COLD WAR. IN POLAND AT THE END OF WORLD WAR TWO, THE SOVIET ARMY PREVENTED THE FREE ELECTIONS PROMISED BY STALIN AT YALTA. TODAY, POLES ARE TAKING THE FIRST STEPS TOWARD REAL ELECTIONS, SO LONG PROMISED SO LONG DEFERRED. AND IN HUNGARY, AT LAST WE SEE A CHANCE FOR MULTI- PARTY COMPETITION AT THE BALLOT BOX. AS PRESIDENT, I WILL CONTINUE TO DO ALL I CAN TO OPEN THE CLOSED SOCIETIES OF THE EAST. WE SEEK SELF- DETERMINATION FOR ALL OF GERMANY AND ALL OF EASTERN EUROPE. WE WILL NOT RELAX. WE MUST NOT WAVER. AGAIN, THE WORLD HAS WAITED LONG ENOUGH. BUT DEMOCRACY'S JOURNEY EAST IS NOT EASY. INTELLECTUALS LIKE CZECH PLAYWRIGHT VACLAV (VAHTS-LAH) HAVEL STILL WORK UNDER THE SHADOW OF COERCION. REPRESSION STILL MENACES T00 MANY PEOPLES OF EASTERN EUROPE. BARRIERS AND BARBED WIRE STILL FENCE IN NATIONS. SO WHEN I VISIT POLAND AND HUNGARY THIS SUMMER, I WILL DELIVER THIS MESSAGE: THERE CANNOT BE A COMMON EUROPEAN HOME UNTIL ALL WITHIN ARE FREE TO MOVE FROM ROOM TO ROOM. -9- AND I WILL TAKE ANOTHER MESSAGE: THE PATH OF FREEDOM LEADS TO A LARGER HOME -- A HOME WHERE WEST MEETS EAST, A DEMOCRATIC HOME - - THE COMMONWEALTH OF FREE NATIONS. I SAID THAT POSITIVE STEPS BY THE SOVIETS WOULD BE MET BY STEPS OF OUR OWN. THIS IS WHY I ANNOUNCED ON MAY 12TH A READINESS TO CONSIDER GRANTING TO THE SOVIETS A TEMPORARY WAIVER OF THE JACKSON- VANIK TRADE RESTRICTIONS, IF THEY LIBERALIZE EMIGRATION. THIS IS ALSO WHY I ANNOUNCED ON MONDAY THAT THE UNITED STATES IS PREPARED TO DROP THE "NO EXCEPTIONS" STANDARD THAT HAS GUIDED OUR APPROACH TO CONTROLLING THE EXPORT OF TECHNOLOGY TO THE SOVIET UNION -- LIFTING A SANCTION ENACTED IN RESPONSE TO THEIR INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN. IN THIS SAME SPIRIT, I SET FORTH FOUR PROPOSALS TO HEAL EUROPE'S TRAGIC DIVISION, TO HELP EUROPE BECOME WHOLE AND FREE. -10- FIRST, I PROPOSE WE STRENGTHEN AND BROADEN THE HELSINKI PROCESS TO PROMOTE FREE ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL PLURALISM IN EASTERN EUROPE. AS THE FORCES OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY RISE IN THE EAST, SO SHOULD OUR EXPECTATIONS. WEAVING TOGETHER THE SLENDER THREADS OF FREEDOM IN THE EAST WILL REQUIRE MUCH FROM THE WESTERN DEMOCRACIES. IN PARTICULAR, THE GREAT POLITICAL PARTIES OF THE WEST MUST ASSUME AN HISTORIC RESPONSIBILITY -- TO LEND COUNSEL AND SUPPORT TO THOSE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE TRYING TO FORM THE FIRST TRULY REPRESENTATIVE POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE EAST, TO ADVANCE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY, TO PART THE IRON CURTAIN. IN FACT, IT HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO PART. THE FRONTIER OF BARBED WIRE AND MINEFIELDS BETWEEN HUNGARY AND AUSTRIA IS BEING REMOVED, FOOT BY FOOT, MILE BY MILE. JUST AS THE BARRIERS ARE COMING DOWN IN HUNGARY, SO MUST THEY FALL THROUGHOUT EASTERN EUROPE. ((PAUSE)) LET BERLIN BE NEXT. ((PAUSE)) -11- NOWHERE IS THE DIVISION BETWEEN EAST AND WEST SEEN MORE CLEARLY THAN IN BERLIN. THERE, A BRUTAL WALL CUTS NEIGHBOR FROM NEIGHBOR, AND BROTHER FROM BROTHER. THAT WALL STANDS AS A MONUMENT TO THE FAILURE OF COMMUNISM. IT MUST ... COME DOWN. ((PAUSE)) NOW, GLASNOST MAY BE A RUSSIAN WORD, BUT OPENNESS IS A WESTERN CONCEPT. WEST BERLIN HAS ALWAYS ENJOYED THE OPENNESS OF A FREE CITY. OUR PROPOSAL WOULD MAKE ALL BERLIN A CENTER OF COMMERCE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST A PLACE OF COOPERATION, NOT A POINT OF CONFRONTATION. WE REDEDICATE OURSELVES TO THE 1987 ALLIED INITIATIVE TO STRENGTHEN FREEDOM AND SECURITY IN THAT DIVIDED CITY. THIS, THEN, IS MY SECOND PROPOSAL - - BRING GLASNOST TO EAST BERLIN. ((PAUSE)) MY GENERATION REMEMBERS A EUROPE RAVAGED BY WAR. OF COURSE, EUROPE HAS LONG SINCE REBUILT ITS PROUD CITIES AND RESTORED ITS MAJESTIC CATHEDRALS. BUT WHAT A TRAGEDY IT WOULD BE IF YOUR CONTINENT WAS AGAIN SPOILED, THIS TIME BY A MORE SUBTLE AND INSIDIOUS DANGER -- THAT OF POISONED RIVERS AND ACID RAIN. -12- AMERICA HAS FACED AN ENVIRONMENTAL TRAGEDY IN ALASKA. COUNTRIES FROM FRANCE TO FINLAND SUFFERED AFTER CHERNOBYL. WEST GERMANY IS STRUGGLING TO SAVE THE BLACK FOREST TODAY. AND THROUGHOUT, WE HAVE ALL LEARNED A TERRIBLE LESSON: ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION RESPECTS NO BORDERS. SO MY THIRD PROPOSAL IS TO WORK TOGETHER ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, WITH THE UNITED STATES AND WESTERN EUROPE EXTENDING A HAND TO THE EAST. SINCE MUCH REMAINS TO BE DONE, IN BOTH EAST AND WEST, WE ASK EASTERN EUROPE TO JOIN US IN THIS COMMON STRUGGLE. WE CAN OFFER TECHNICAL TRAINING, ASSISTANCE IN DRAFTING LAWS AND REGULATIONS, AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR TACKLING THESE PROBLEMS. I INVITE THE ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND ENGINEERS OF THE EAST TO VISIT THE WEST, TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE SO WE CAN SUCCEED IN THIS GREAT CAUSE. MY FOURTH PROPOSAL, ACTUALLY A SET OF PROPOSALS, CONCERNS A LESS MILITARIZED EUROPE -- THE MOST HEAVILY ARMED CONTINENT IN THE WORLD. NOWHERE IS THIS MORE APPARENT THAN IN THE TWO GERMANIES. THAT IS WHY OUR QUEST TO SAFELY REDUCE ARMAMENTS HAS A SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE GERMAN PEOPLE. -13- TO THOSE WHO ARE IMPATIENT WITH OUR MEASURED PACE IN ARMS REDUCTIONS, I RESPECTFULLY SUGGEST THAT HISTORY TEACHES US A LESSON -- THAT UNITY AND STRENGTH ARE THE CATALYST AND PREREQUISITE TO ARMS CONTROL. WE HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT A STRONG WESTERN DEFENSE IS THE BEST ROAD TO PEACE. FORTY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE HAVE PROVEN US RIGHT. BUT WE HAVE DONE MORE THAN JUST KEEP THE PEACE. BY STANDING TOGETHER, WE HAVE CONVINCED THE SOVIETS THAT THEIR ARMS BUILD- UP HAS BEEN COSTLY AND POINTLESS. LET US NOT GIVE THEM INCENTIVES TO RETURN TO THE POLICIES OF THE PAST. LET US GIVE THEM EVERY REASON TO ABANDON THE ARMS RACE FOR THE SAKE OF THE HUMAN RACE. IN THIS ERA OF BOTH NEGOTIATION AND ARMED CAMPS, AMERICA UNDERSTANDS THAT WEST GERMANY BEARS A SPECIAL BURDEN. OF COURSE, IN THIS NUCLEAR AGE, EVERY NATION IS ON THE FRONT LINE. BUT NOT ALL FREE NATIONS ARE CALLED TO ENDURE THE TENSION OF REGULAR MILITARY ACTIVITY, OR THE CONSTANT PRESENCE OF FOREIGN MILITARY FORCES. WE ARE SENSITIVE TO THESE SPECIAL CONDITIONS THAT THIS NEEDED PRESENCE IMPOSES. -14- TO SIGNIFICANTLY EASE THE BURDEN OF ARMED CAMPS IN EUROPE, WE MUST BE AGGRESSIVE IN OUR PURSUIT OF SOLID, VERIFIABLE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN NATO AND THE WARSAW PACT. ON MONDAY, WITH MY NATO COLLEAGUES IN BRUSSELS, I SHARED MY GREAT HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF CONVENTIONAL ARMS NEGOTIATIONS IN EUROPE. I SHARED WITH THEM A PROPOSAL FOR ACHIEVING SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. AS YOU KNOW, THE WARSAW PACT HAS NOW ACCEPTED MAJOR ELEMENTS OF OUR WESTERN APPROACH TO THE NEW CONVENTIONAL ARMS NEGOTIATIONS IN VIENNA. THE EASTERN BLOC ACKNOWLEDGES THAT A SUBSTANTIAL IMBALANCE EXISTS BETWEEN THE CONVENTIONAL FORCES OF THE TWO ALLIANCES. THEY HAVE MOVED CLOSER TO NATO'S POSITION BY ACCEPTING MOST ELEMENTS OF OUR INITIAL CONVENTIONAL ARMS PROPOSALS. THESE ENCOURAGING STEPS HAVE PRODUCED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CREATIVE AND DECISIVE ACTION. WE SHALL NOT LET IT PASS. OUR PROPOSAL HAS SEVERAL KEY INITIATIVES. -15- *** I PROPOSE WE "LOCK IN" THE EASTERN AGREEMENT TO WESTERN-PROPOSED CEILINGS ON TANKS AND ARMORED TROOP CARRIERS. WE SHOULD ALSO SEEK AGREEMENT ON A COMMON NUMERICAL CEILING FOR ARTILLERY IN THE RANGE BETWEEN NATO'S AND THAT OF THE WARSAW PACT, PROVIDED DEFINITIONAL PROBLEMS CAN BE SOLVED. AND THE WEAPONS WE REMOVE MUST BE DESTROYED. ((PAUSE)) *** WE SHOULD EXPAND OUR CURRENT OFFER TO INCLUDE ALL LAND- BASED COMBAT AIRCRAFT AND HELICOPTERS, BY PROPOSING THAT BOTH SIDES REDUCE IN THESE CATEGORIES TO A LEVEL 15 PERCENT BELOW THE CURRENT NATO TOTALS. GIVEN THE WARSAW PACT'S ADVANTAGE IN NUMBERS, THE PACT WOULD HAVE TO MAKE FAR DEEPER REDUCTIONS THAN NATO TO ESTABLISH PARITY AT THESE LOWER LEVELS. AGAIN, THE WEAPONS WE REMOVE MUST BE DESTROYED. -16- *** I PROPOSE A 20- PERCENT CUT IN COMBAT MANPOWER IN U.S.-STATIONED FORCES, AND A RESULTING CEILING ON U.S. AND SOVIET GROUND AND AIR FORCES STATIONED OUTSIDE OF NATIONAL TERRITORY IN THE ATLANTIC-TO-URALS ZONE, AT APPROXIMATELY 275,000 EACH. THIS REDUCTION TO PARITY, A FAIR AND BALANCED LEVEL OF STRENGTH, WOULD COMPEL THE SOVIETS TO REDUCE THEIR 600,000- STRONG RED ARMY IN EASTERN EUROPE BY 325,000. AND THESE WITHDRAWN FORCES MUST BE DEMOBILIZED. *** FINALLY, I CALL ON PRESIDENT GORBACHEV TO ACCELERATE THE TIMETABLE FOR REACHING THESE AGREEMENTS. THERE IS NO REASON WHY THE FIVE-TO-SIX YEAR TIMETABLE AS SUGGESTED BY MOSCOW IS NECESSARY. I PROPOSE A MUCH MORE AMBITIOUS SCHEDULE. WE SHOULD AIM TO REACH AN AGREEMENT WITHIN SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR, AND ACCOMPLISH REDUCTIONS BY 1992, OR 1993 AT THE LATEST. -17- IN ADDITION TO MY CONVENTIONAL ARMS PROPOSALS, I BELIEVE WE MUST STRIVE TO IMPROVE THE OPENNESS WITH WHICH WE AND THE SOVIETS CONDUCT OUR MILITARY ACTIVITIES. THEREFORE I WANT TO REITERATE MY SUPPORT FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY. I RENEW MY PROPOSAL THAT THE SOVIET UNION AND ITS ALLIES OPEN THEIR SKIES TO RECIPROCAL, UNARMED AERIAL SURVEILLANCE FLIGHTS, CONDUCTED ON SHORT NOTICE, TO WATCH MILITARY ACTIVITIES. SATELLITES ARE A VERY IMPORTANT WAY TO VERIFY ARMS CONTROL AGREEMENTS. BUT THEY DO NOT PROVIDE CONSTANT COVERAGE OF THE SOVIET UNION. AN OPEN SKIES POLICY WOULD MOVE BOTH SIDES CLOSER TO A TOTAL CONTINUITY OF COVERAGE, WHILE SYMBOLIZING GREATER OPENNESS BETWEEN EAST AND WEST. THESE ARE MY PROPOSALS TO ACHIEVE A LESS MILITARIZED EUROPE. A SHORT TIME AGO THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO REVOLUTIONARY TO CONSIDER. YET TODAY, WE MAY WELL BE ON THE VERGE OF A MORE AMBITIOUS AGREEMENT IN EUROPE THAN ANYONE CONSIDERED POSSIBLE. -18- BUT WE ARE ALSO CHALLENGED BY DEVELOPMENTS OUTSIDE OF NATO'S TRADITIONAL AREA OF CONCERN. EVERY WESTERN NATION STILL FACES THE GLOBAL PROLIFERATION OF LETHAL TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING BALLISTIC MISSILES AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS. WE MUST COLLECTIVELY CONTROL THE SPREAD OF THESE GROWING THREATS. SO WE SHOULD BEGIN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WITH A WORLDWIDE BAN ON CHEMICAL WEAPONS. GROWING POLITICAL FREEDOM IN THE EAST, A BERLIN WITHOUT BARRIERS, A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT, A LESS MILITARIZED EUROPE -- EACH IS A NOBLE GOAL. TAKEN TOGETHER, THEY ARE THE FOUNDATION OF OUR LARGER VISION -- A EUROPE THAT IS FREE AND AT PEACE WITH ITSELF. LET THE SOVIETS KNOW THAT OUR GOAL IS NOT TO UNDERMINE THEIR LEGITIMATE SECURITY INTERESTS. OUR GOAL IS TO CONVINCE THEM, STEP BY STEP, THAT THEIR DEFINITION OF SECURITY IS OBSOLETE, THAT THEIR DEEPEST FEARS ARE UNFOUNDED. -19- WHEN WESTERN EUROPE TAKES ITS GIANT STEP IN 1992, IT WILL INSTITUTIONALIZE WHAT HAS BEEN TRUE FOR YEARS -- BORDERS OPEN TO PEOPLE, COMMERCE AND IDEAS. NO SHADOW OF SUSPICION, NO SINISTER FEAR, IS CAST BETWEEN YOU. THE VERY PROSPECT OF WAR WITHIN THE WEST IS UNTHINKABLE TO OUR CITIZENS. BUT SUCH A PEACEFUL INTEGRATION OF NATIONS INTO A WORLD COMMUNITY DOES NOT MEAN THAT ANY NATION MUST RELINQUISH ITS CULTURE, MUCH LESS ITS SOVEREIGNTY. THIS PROCESS OF INTEGRATION, A SUBTLE WEAVING OF SHARED INTERESTS, WHICH IS SO NEARLY COMPLETE IN WESTERN EUROPE, HAS NOW FINALLY BEGUN IN THE EAST. WE WANT TO HELP THE NATIONS OF EASTERN EUROPE REALIZE WHAT THE NATIONS OF WESTERN EUROPE LEARNED LONG AGO. THE FOUNDATION OF LASTING SECURITY COMES, NOT FROM TANKS, TROOPS OR BARBED WIRE. IT IS BUILT ON SHARED VALUES AND AGREEMENTS THAT LINK FREE PEOPLES. -20- THE NATIONS OF EASTERN EUROPE ARE REDISCOVERING THE GLORIES OF THEIR NATIONAL HERITAGE. to LET THE COLORS AND HUES OF NATIONAL CULTURE RETURN TO THESE GREY SOCIETIES OF THE EAST. LET EUROPE FORGO A PEACE OF TENSION FOR A PEACE OF TRUST, ONE IN WHICH THE PEOPLES OF EAST AND WEST CAN REJOICE; A CONTINENT THAT IS DIVERSE, YET WHOLE. FORTY YEARS OF COLD WAR HAVE TESTED WESTERN RESOLVE AND THE STRENGTH OF OUR VALUES. NATO'S FIRST MISSION IS NOW NEARLY COMPLETE. BUT IF WE ARE TO FULFILL OUR EUROPEAN VISION, THE CHALLENGE OF THE NEXT FORTY YEARS WILL ASK NO LESS OF US. TOGETHER, WE SHALL ANSWER THAT CALL. THE WORLD HAS WAITED LONG ENOUGH. THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME TO MAINZ, AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL. ### REMARKS: DEPARTURE STATEMENT KOBLENZ MAY 31, 1989 4:30 P.M. CHANCELLOR KOHL LORD MAYOR HOERTER. PEOPLE OF KOBLENZ. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PART OF GERMANY BEFORE WE CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY. - 2 - AFTER OUR CRUISE DOWN THE RHINE, PAST THE GREEN GORGES AND GENTLE BANKS, I UNDERSTAND WHY THIS REGION HAS BEEN THE INSPIRATION OF SO MANY GERMAN POETS AND PHILOSOPHERS. I AM ESPECIALLY PLEASED TO BE WITH MY GOOD FRIEND CHANCELLOR KOHL IN HIS HOME STATE OF RHEINLAND-PFALZ [FAULTS] WITH ITS PROUD HERITAGE. - 3 - OUR GERMAN-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP HAS ENDURED AND GROWN OVER THE DECADES BECAUSE BOTH OUR NATIONS BELIEVE IN THE INHERENT RIGHT OF PEOPLE TO BE FREE. So, IT IS APPROPRIATE THAT THE CHANCELLOR AND I FIND OURSELVES HERE WHERE THE RHINE MEETS THE MOSELLE STANDING TOGETHER BEFORE THE DEUTCHES EcK. THE NATO SUMMIT IS OVER AND, AS GREAT FRIENDS AND ALLIES, WE HAVE MADE REAL PROGRESS TOWARD OUR MUTUAL DREAM OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL EUROPE - EAST AND WEST. - 4 - BUT AS THE DEUTCHES EcK SYMBOLIZES SO VIVIDLY, THAT DREAM WILL NOT BE FULFILLED UNTIL WE SEE GERMANY - WHOLE AND FREE. IT HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL VISIT THAT I HAVE ENJOYED TREMENDOUSLY FROM THE CASTLES OF THE RHINE TO THE CHARM OF BONN TO THE VIGOR OF MAINZ AND RHEIN-MAIN. I AM DELIGHTED TO HAVE BEEN WITH CHANCELLOR KOHL IN HIS BELOVED HOME. - 5 - THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME TO LOVELY KOBLENZ. GOD BLESS YOU AND GÔD BLESS THE UNITED STATES AND WEST GERMANY. # # # FICE REMARKS: DEPARTURE STATEMENT KOBLENZ MAY 31, 1989 4:30 P.M. CHANCELLOR Конь... LORD MAYOR HOERTER. PEOPLE OF KOBLENZ. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PART OF GERMANY BEFORE WE CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY. - 2 - AFTER OUR CRUISE DOWN THE RHINE, PAST THE GREEN GORGES AND GENTLE BANKS, I UNDERSTAND WHY THIS REGION HAS BEEN THE INSPIRATION OF so MANY GERMAN POETS AND PHILOSOPHERS. I AM ESPECIALLY PLEASED TO BE WITH MY GOOD FRIEND CHANCELLOR KOHL IN HIS HOME STATE OF RHEINLAND-PFALZ [FAULTS] WITH ITS PROUD HERITAGE. - 3 - OUR GERMAN-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP HAS ENDURED AND GROWN OVER THE DECADES BECAUSE BOTH OUR NATIONS BELIEVE IN THE INHERENT RIGHT OF PEOPLE TO BE FREE. So, IT IS APPROPRIATE THAT THE CHANCELLOR AND I FIND OURSELVES HERE WHERE THE RHINE MEETS THE MOSELLE STANDING TOGETHER BEFORE THE DEUTCHES EcK. THE NATO SUMMIT IS OVER AND, AS GREAT FRIENDS AND ALLIES, WE HAVE MADE REAL PROGRESS TOWARD OUR MUTUAL DREAM OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL EUROPE - EAST AND WEST. - 4 - BUT AS THE DEUTCHES EcK SYMBOLIZES so VIVIDLY, THAT DREAM WILL NOT BE FULFILLED UNTIL WE SEE GERMANY - WHOLE AND FREE. IT HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL VISIT THAT I HAVE ENJOYED TREMENDOUSLY FROM THE CASTLES OF THE RHINE TO THE CHARM OF BONN TO THE VIGOR OF MAINZ AND RHEIN-MAIN. I AM DELIGHTED TO HAVE BEEN WITH CHANCELLOR KOHL IN HIS BELOVED HOME. - 5 - THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME To LOVELY KOBLENZ. GOD BLESS YOU AND GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES AND WEST GERMANY. # # #