ad info




CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
 ASIANOW
 U.S.
 LOCAL
 POLITICS
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
 NATURE
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 HEALTH
 STYLE
 IN-DEPTH

 Headline News brief
 daily almanac
 CNN networks
 CNN programs
 on-air transcripts
 news quiz

  CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 TIME INC. SITES:
 MORE SERVICES:
 video on demand
 video archive
 audio on demand
 news email services
 free email accounts
 desktop headlines
 pointcast
 pagenet

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

 SITE GUIDES:
 help
 contents
 search

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 WEB SERVICES:
US

Clinton: 'Happy day' as Yugoslav pullout completed

Clinton
Clinton in Cologne on Sunday

Interactive INTERACTIVE
KFOR enters Kosovo

NATO rolls into Kosovo
 ALSO:
G-8 summit ends with promise of 'strong action' in Balkans

Serb troops withdraw as NATO faces weapons problem in Kosovo

 MESSAGE BOARD:
Crisis in Kosovo
 IN-DEPTH SPECIAL:
Focus on Kosovo
 

June 20, 1999
Web posted at: 1:08 p.m. EDT (1708 GMT)

COLOGNE, Germany (CNN) -- U.S. President Bill Clinton said Sunday that Yugoslav troops' withdrawal from Kosovo marked a good day, and that Russia's role in peacekeeping efforts there is acceptable to NATO.

"It's a very happy day," Clinton said, referring to the Yugoslav pullout. NATO formally ended its 11-week air war against Yugoslavia on Sunday.

In a wide-ranging interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN's Late Edition on Sunday, Clinton discussed progress on the Kosovo peace plan, gun control and the 2000 presidential election.

"We have about 20,000 of our NATO peacekeepers in there. Sixty-two thousand of the Kosovars have already come home. So I feel very good about where we're going with this now, and I'm leaving here with real confidence that we are going to succeed in achieving all of our objectives," Clinton said.

After meeting with Russian President Boris Yeltsin on the last day of the G-8 summit, Clinton said he was satisfied with Russia's role at the airport in Kosovo's capital, Pristina.

Originally thought to be a staging ground for NATO peacekeepers, the airport was unexpectedly taken over by Russian troops last week.

"The division of labor they've worked out at the airport is quite acceptable to us and guarantees that the mission can go forward," Clinton said. He did not elaborate.

The U.S. president downplayed reports of Yeltsin's poor health.

"His behavior was neither erratic or shaky today. He was strong, clear, forceful and looking to the future," Clinton said.

Election 2000

Discussing the 2000 presidential election, Clinton praised Republican George W. Bush's campaign announcement last week. But he said the issues will decide how well Bush does against Vice President Al Gore on the Democratic side.

"We've got to see where he stands on the issues," Clinton said. "So far we know almost nothing of that except what we know from his record as governor."

"His announcement speech was very well-crafted. But on the specifics, I just don't know. I mean, for example, he said nothing about this gun battle going on in the House. He signed a concealed weapons bill in the Texas legislature. That's just one example."



RELATED STORIES:
Yugoslav military presence in Kosovo drawing to a close
June 19, 1999
Cohen receives warm welcome from Kosovar Albanians
June 19, 1999
Hillary Clinton confirms plans for exploratory committee
June 04, 1999

RELATED SITES:
The White House
U.S. Senate
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

 LATEST HEADLINES:
SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s)   go    help

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.