 Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States and Mrs. Reagan. Ladies and gentlemen, the National Anthems of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America. Today, it's an honor to welcome Chancellor Cole. This marks his sixth visit to us as leader of the German Federal Republic. He and his fellow citizens are friends and partners with whom we share a desire for peace and a commitment to the principles of human freedom. Our nation's solid bilateral ties are resolved to maintain the viability of the Western Alliance and our dedication to the values and ideals which are the underpinning of political and economic freedom have been a great boon to the German and American peoples. The great German writer-philosopher Gathold Lessing once wrote, Nothing under the sun is ever accidental. For 40 years of European peace have been no accident. The good fortune can be traced to a great degree to the solidarity and cooperation between our two peoples and governments. When a build-up of intermediate-range missiles by our adversary threatened the peace, our alliance was put to the test. Chancellor Cole and his government stood firm in the face of a well-orchestrated international and domestic propaganda campaign aimed at paralyzing our ability to respond. The deployment, however, of weapons is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. What we seek is the security of our countries, the freedom of our peoples and the peace of the world. Our strength of purpose as well as our military might are vehicles in the search for a lasting peace. Chancellor Cole's visit comes at an opportune time. I look forward to discussing with him my recent meetings with General Secretary Gorbachev and subsequent events. There is, as I will explain, ample reason for optimism. Whatever progress is made, it will be based on the solid foundation that governments and Americans have built together, particularly in the last half decade. Three years ago, I presented a plan which would have reduced American and Soviet longer-range INF missiles to zero globally, thus called the zero option. Building on the diplomacy of interceding years, as well as the deployment of our crews and Pershings, General Secretary Gorbachev and I came close in Iceland to reaching an agreement that would have drastically reduced these missiles on both sides. We are now striving to build upon the progress achieved in Reykjavik. And it should not escape anyone's attention that the Soviet Union and the United States are now seriously talking about reducing offensive weapons. This is a giant step forward from the time not so long ago when arms talks merely put a cap on weapons at high levels permitting the building of more missiles and more warheads. When the next agreement is finally reached with the Soviet Union, and I say when, not if, it will not be the result of weakness or timidity in the part of Western nations. Instead, it will flow from our strength, realism, and unity. Our allies in these last few years have withstood intimidation and brazen interference in their domestic political processes. Our adversaries misjudged individuals like Chancellor Cole and the other leaders of the Western democracies. Under intense pressure, they did what was necessary, held firm and because of their fortitude the free world is now neither vulnerable nor subservient. The record of the European peoples is long and glorious in so many ways Europe is the cradle of modern civilization. The indomitable spirit demonstrated by our European neighbors and allies in the post-war era from the Berlin air lift to our solidarity leading to my recent meetings in Iceland has made the difference. The tide has been met, the tide turned, and the flow of history is now on the side of the free. We in the west are now engaged in a great technological revolution in medicine, electronics, physics, and so many fields of human endeavor. More has been discovered in the 20th century than in all the preceding centuries put together. Our scientists at this moment are making great strides toward developing technology that can protect mankind against ballistic missiles and that protection applies to the United States. Our allies, and yes, even our adversaries, if need be. A purely defensive system that makes these missiles ineffective also makes them more negotiable. A defensive system makes an arms reduction agreement more likely because it offers protection against cheating. This and not trust will lead to reducing and we hope ultimately eliminating the nuclear arsenals that now threaten all of humanity. If a defensive system was not a viable option, the Soviet Union would not be committing so much of its own resources in developing and deploying strategic defenses of its own. Technology can open up new doors to peace and security. That's what our strategic defense initiative is all about. The time has come to re-channel the efforts of some of our best minds to develop tools which can be used to maintain peace, tools that protect rather than kill. The United States stands ready, as I assured Mr. Gorbachev in Iceland and reaffirmed today, to negotiate seriously about safeguards that will enable the Soviet Union to share in the benefits of strategic defense. What we in the West have done to rebuild our strength and revitalize our alliance has guaranteed the peace. But a lasting peace cannot be based simply on an arms agreement. Better relations must include more and open, freer contacts between people and governments, a respect for human rights, and an end to those regional conflicts that continue to plague mankind. Chancellor Kohl of the German people have been steadfast in their support and in their friendship for many years. They knew as-now as we do that our destinies and those of all free people are tied. We strive for a free, secure and prosperous world, a world at peace, and we do it together with our friends and allies, the German people. So it gives me great pleasure to welcome Chancellor Helmut Kohl, a partner, a colleague, and a friend. Mr. President, very brave, brave woman, excellent ladies and gentlemen. Mr. President, Mrs. Reagan, the excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. President, I thank you, in the name of my wife, and the delegation I am accompanying, I am very, very happy for this friendly and warm welcome to you in Washington. I am happy that I can be here again, and I think this wonderful autumn is a symbol in its sunshine in this wonderful landscape for the relations between our countries. Let me thank you in my own name and on behalf of my wife and my delegation for the friendly and warm welcome you have extended to us. I am delighted to be in Washington again, and I feel that this wonderful fall day with its sunshine is a very true symbol standing for the nature of the relationship between our two countries. And it gives me particularly pleasure, Mr. President, to see you again, a good friend of our country and an esteemed personal friend. It is the seventh time that we meet each other at the Federal Council of 1982. This number alone allows the intensity and density of relations between our two countries and governments. This is the seventh time that we have met since I took over the Office of Federal Chancellor back in 1982, and this figure alone gives an indication of the intensity and closeness of the relations between our two countries and governments. And in addition, we have often been in contact consulting each other by letter or telephone and I would like to take this opportunity before the public of your country here to express my appreciation and my great gratitude for this trustful cooperation. I thank you for this form of close cooperation which is based on mutual trust. And it is a token of a friendship and partnership underpinned by shared values, ideals and interests. In the Atlantic Alliance, Americans and Germans stand together with their British, French, Italian and other friends in a union of historical dimensions. It is a community on the opposite side. A defense government is against aggression and political oppression. A government is against democracy, freedom and human rights. The security of the Republic of Germany is the most important thing with this alliance and with the partnership with the United States of America. Only the US can guarantee the security of Western Europe. The American soldiers in the Republic of Germany defend together with our sons in the Bundeswehr our common freedom. You are welcome. President Xi and her fellow citizens of the US should know that the overwhelming majority of the citizens of the Republic of Germany are the American soldiers. They look at them as friends and we know that we can rely on each other. And we know that we can rely on each other. The European allies render an important contribution to our common defense. And the 12 states united in the European community are undergoing a dynamic process of political and economic integration through which the European pillar of the alliance will be strengthened. And we Europeans, Mr. President, have recognized that this is the only way in which the European Union that this is the only way in which we can play a role in tomorrow's world. In your speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg in May 1985, Mr. President, you welcome and appreciate it. This development, it will not be detrimental to our alliance, but it is going to strengthen it. It remains our goal, and I know that I shared with you, Mr. President, to create peace and security with ever fewer weapons. In Reykjavik, thanks to your serious and consistent efforts in pursuit of peace, a major step was taken in this direction. And we must now take the opportunity to take this opportunity and to take the opportunity to take the opportunity and we must now take the opportunities that present themselves without endangering our defensive capability. Your meeting with General Secretary Gorbachev has also confirmed that the Soviet Union is interested in improving the West-East relations. We should now take it as a word and continue to promote negotiations where real progress is possible. And we should take the Soviet Union at its word and sound out at the negotiating table where real progress could be made. My government is contributing actively to the efforts to promote dialogue and cooperation, confidence, understanding and reconciliation. The world is looking, hopefully, to the two superpowers, but the small and medium-sized states must play their part and make their contributions as well. On the Hamburg impression of German language, they said, the future belongs to freedom. Let us work together on this. We must convince the young generation in the USA, as in the Republic of Germany and everywhere in the world, that it is worth it for our values, for freedom and for legal democracy. Mr. President, in your impressive speech to the young Germans, gathered at Hamburg Castle in my home district. In 1985, you said, the future belongs to the free. Let us continue to work together for this goal. We must convince the young people, the young generation, in the United States, in the Federal Republic of Germany, all over the world, that it is worthwhile to stand up for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. You have been persuasive and vigorous, Mr. President, in your support of an increase in youth exchanges between our peoples. For that, I am grateful to you and we will... Mr. President, under your leadership, the United States of America has rediscovered self-confidence and regained the spirit of enterprise and leadership. As in the past, these are the qualities that will enable the American nation to master the challenges of the future. The Federal Republic of Germany, with all its citizens, with all its leaders, with all its leaders, with all its leaders, with all its citizens, will be a loyal friend and partner to the United States of America as it goes about this task. Thank you very much.