 to make decisions with the S's of decision, that's grand. How'd you go? Maybe. No. With the S, I would put it grand. Well, welcome. And I'm pleased that you accepted our invitation to meet here in Washington. I hope your meetings have been fruitful. As I indicated last night, I think our alliance is healthy and sound. But I also think it's something we're very proud of because we're back all the way in history. And I don't think there has ever been an alliance of so many nations put together so solidly that has for its total life maintained peace. I think we could be very proud of that and very encouraged by what it may mean for the future. I think it's important not only for the fact that it has been an alliance in a military sense, but more than that I think it has been a political alliance based on common shared values that we all have. So we've stood the test of nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union has, I think, seen that it can't divide us. And our collective defense grounds also collective responsibilities. And I should emphasize that there is concern in our own country among our countries about NATO's defense burden. There is a direct link between all of your efforts and my ability to maintain congressional support. I know that's hard for parliamentary systems to understand that the President of the United States can be faced with a Congress with the majority of the opposite party who goes out of his way to find reasons for not doing what the President wants, particularly in an election year. But I am greatly encouraged and I think that you have some discussions about the present intransigence of the Soviet Union. I'm just going to conclude until this meeting open to you with this one line of yourself. Lovely son. Are you traveling again, Mr. President? Tomorrow I'll leave for Ireland and get on to England and Normandy. We're all assembled here. It has been a pleasure and an honor to welcome the ministers of the North Atlantic Council of the White House. And I'm so pleased that the United States is hosting this meeting because we're also celebrating the 35th anniversary of the signing in Washington of the North Atlantic Treaty. Last night at dinner and again this morning we had the opportunity to discuss the major challenges facing the alliance, including the security and defense of the West, relations with the Soviet Union, and arms control. We all recognize that there is no more important consideration than the development of a better working relationship with the Soviet Union, one marked by greater cooperation and understanding and leading to stable, secure and peaceful relations. This has been and will continue to be a primary goal for the United States and the NATO alliance. The alliance is dedicated to peace. And thanks to the courage and vision of our member nations and their leaders, we can reflect on the past with pride and look to the future with confidence. For us, our NATO partnership is an anchor, a fixed point in a turbulent world. And it's our sincere hope that the Soviet Union will soon come to understand the profound desire for peace, which inspires us. And I hope that the Soviet leadership will finally realize it is pointless to continue its efforts to divide the alliance. We will not be split. We will not be intimidated. The West will defend democracy and individual liberty. And the West will protect the peace. At the same time, we remain ready to negotiate fairly and flexibly and without preconditions. It is our hope that the Soviet Union will soon return to the negotiating table. Our commitment to dialogue and arms reduction is firm and unshaken. No other step in the near term would do so much for the cause of peace and stability as a return to constructive negotiations and agreements reducing the levels of nuclear arms. I've said many times and will say again that when the Soviet Union returns to the negotiating table, we'll meet them halfway. I also hope that the Soviet leadership will respond positively to the range of proposals which we and our allies have advanced in other areas of arms control. Our proposals serve the cause of peace, the draft treaty to abolish chemical weapons presented by Vice President Bush in Geneva, the recent NATO proposal seeking to break the deadlock in the conventional force talks in Vienna, and the measures introduced by NATO in Stockholm in our effort to reduce the risk of surprise attack in Europe. Tomorrow, I will leave for Europe. I'm looking forward to the trip and the opportunity to underscore the enduring importance of the political, cultural, and economic ties that bind the industrialized democracies. The meeting of NATO foreign ministers has reinforced my own confidence in the strength and durability of the alliance and the common destiny of free societies. And so I want to thank all these NATO ministers. We're pleased to have had all of you with us as our guests and proud to have you as our partners. Thank you. God bless you all. Thank you very much. Thank you. Oh, I'm not going to take any questions now other than this. This is news item of the morning. Sixteen ministers here of all this alliance that has maintained peace for more than a third of a century. No question. No question. They would have had a chance. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much.