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SEC. BAKER:
EXING
TEXT OF PRESS BRIEFING BY
SECRETARY OF STATE JAMES BAKER AND FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER ROLAND DUMAS
ST. ANTHONY FRANCISCAN MONASTERY
KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE
SATURDAY, MAY 20, 1989
ladies and gentlemen,
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I have a short statement to
make and then the Minister and I will be delighted to respond to your questions.
Let me start by saying that the President and President Mitterrand had excellent talks today. They thought that the West has seldom been in a stronger position. They discussed preparations for the NATO summit and they expected NATO's 40th anniversary to be a successful and forward-looking event.
The two Presidents stressed the absolute need to maintain nuclear deterrence in Europe and that we should concentrate now conventional force negotiations.
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They exchanged views on events in the Soviet Union and shared the hope that Mr. Gorbachev's reform efforts would succeed. The Presidents had an extended exchange on the West's approach to the changes going on in Eastern Europe and agreed that the West must be actively involved in promoting peaceful and economic change in that region.
They went over recent events in the Middle East peace process, particularly emphasizing their support
support for the Arab League's attempt to achieve a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Minister Dumas and I discussed the situation in Panama and condemned together General Noriega's attempt to steal the Panamanian election. We further stressed the need for Nicaragua Sandinistas in Nicaragua to live up to their commitment to democratization.
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And finally, the President and President Mitterrand naturally discussed the week's events in China and their hope that restraint would be the order of the day.
Now we'd be delighted to take your questions.
Q
Mr. Secretary, you said on Wednesday, "We think negotiations on SNF are a mistake. " Is that still your view?