SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I am pleased to announce that General John M. Shalikashvili has agreed to serve as an adviser to the President and me and spearhead the Administration's effort to achieve bipartisan support for ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

Over the years General Shalikashvili and I have worked together on issues ranging from European security to containing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. He is someone whose leadership, judgment, and patriotism I admire, and who has won the respect and admiration of all Americans.

During the Senate's debate over ratification of the CTBT last fall a number of questions were raised concerning the impact of the treaty on our national security. These issues deserve a full airing so that the American people can be assured that this Treaty will make America and the world safer without preventing us from taking steps necessary to the national defense.

A number of leading Senators from both parties have expressed interest in a bipartisan effort to move forward on eventual ratification of the CTBT. The Administration and Congress have worked together in the past on such key issues as NATO enlargement and the Chemical Weapons Convention. We must work together now on this vital effort to curb the spread of nuclear weapons.

To that end, the President and I have asked General Shalikashvili to reach out to members of the Senate and to construct a path that will bridge any differences and ultimately obtain Senate advice and consent to the Treaty. General Shalikashvili will make his recommendations directly to the President and Secretary of State, who will also be supported by an Administration Task Force on the Treaty.

The President and I look forward to receiving General Shalikashvili's recommendations and to working closely with him again. We thank him for his continued service to the nation.