Clinton Ends Trip With Denmark Visit, Focuses on Foreign Policy

Ending what he proclaimed a “historic week in Europe,” President Clinton turned toward foreign policy challenges at home Saturday, including the possibility of a longer U.S. mission in Bosnia and questions about the costs of expanding NATO.

Ten of thousands of Danes cheered Clinton during his visit to Denmark, the first by a U.S. president.

Copenhagen was the last stop on an eight-day trip that took Clinton from Spain to Poland, Romania and Denmark. The centerpiece of the trip was a NATO summit in Madrid, during which the North Atlantic Treaty Organization extended membership invitations to Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Saying that political divisions in Europe were closing, Clinton declared, “It can be the greatest time in all human history.”

Amid congressional fears of a widening involvement in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Clinton left the door open for a continued U.S. role after peacekeeping forces are to be withdrawn next summer.

“I believe the present operation will have run its course by then and we’ll have to discuss what, if any, involvement the United States should have there,” Clinton said.

Clinton’s comments in Denmark came a day after the Senate approved a nonbinding resolution saying U.S. troops should be out by June 30, 1998, and that European nations should provide the troops to any peacekeeping effort needed after that. The House has voted to cut off money for the troops after the withdrawal deadline.