WARSAW, Poland -- Vice President Dan Quayle said Wednesday the United States will help Poland on its road to recovery but the eastern European nation's own economic reforms are even more important.
'We all know pursuing these economic reforms takes courage,' Quayle told reporters at a joint briefing with Polish President Lech Walesa. 'Mr. President, I applaud your courage. ... The United States will continue to work with you and the people of our country.'
Quayle is on a trip to Germany, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria to assure the region that despite the Persian Gulf War, the Bush administration has not forgotten the changes under way as Soviet- style systems are scrapped in favor of democracies.
Regarding the possibility of further aid for either Poland or the Soviet Union, Quayle characterized the several hundred million dollars donated so far by the U.S. government as 'generous.'
'Money and assistance will help, but money and assistance are not adequate,' Quayle said. 'That's why ... economic reforms are necessary to bring economic growth to Poland.'
Earlier, during a meeting with students at the American Studies Center, the vice president said the Soviet Union must also move toward serious economic reform. 'And when I say serious economic reform, that means privatization,' Quayle said.
He said U.S. experts are in the Soviet Union following Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's request for financial aid.
'If President Bush will make the decision (to aid Moscow), he has to be sure the Soviet Union will move forward,' Quayle said.
He said the main purpose of his trip is to boost the democratic efforts and economic development under way in eastern and central Europe.
'We do not just want to let the revolutions that have taken place in the past couple of years go on without acknowledgment,' Quayle said, adding there is a need to ensure the emerging democracies 'become permanent.'
