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U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #29, 99-03-09

U.S. State Department: Daily Press Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>


754

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing

I N D E X

Tuesday, March 9, 1999

Briefer: James P. Rubin

GUATEMALA
1		Secretary Albright's Travel to Antigua, Guatemala for
		  Central American Summit

EL SALVADOR 1 Presidential elections in El Salvador

SERBIA (Kosovo) 1-3 Status of KLA Action on Rambouillet Accords/KLA Delegation 1-2,4 Ambassador Holbrooke's Travel to Belgrade/Scheduled Meetings/Mission 2,4,5 NATO's Intentions/Position on Use of Force 3-4 Prospects of Kosovar Delegation Visit to Washington

GREECE 4 Greek Opposition Leader Karamanlis' Visit/Meeting with Secretary Albright

CHINA 5-6 Detention of Chinese Dissident Wang Lixiong 6-8 Investigation of Espionage at Department of Energy Labs

RUSSIA 8-9 Update on Situation in Chechnya

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA 9 Elections For New Parliament

IRAN/ITALY 9-10 Iranian President Khatemi's visit to Italy

CAMBODIA 10-11 Cambodian Authorities Proceeding to File Charges Against Ta Mok 11 Prospects for an International Tribunal

NORTH KOREA 11 Update on Ambassador Kartman's Discussions 12 Request for More Food Aid

IRAQ 12 Reports of Executions of Military Personnel


U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

DPB #29

TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1999, 1:10 P.M.

(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

MR. RUBIN: Welcome to the State Department briefing. Let me first say that I did not cut myself shaving on my forehead.

(Laughter.)

And I didn't slam the coffee cup into my forehead upon reading the newspapers this morning.

I have a statement for you on Secretary Albright will travel to Guatemala on March 10 and 11 to join the President for the Central American Summit, and also on the presidential elections in El Salvador. Those will be posted after the briefing. With that, let me go to your questions.

QUESTION: Are the Kosovar Albanians inching toward a signature?

MR. RUBIN: Getting to yes is a process that we will not say is completed until we have a signature. Senator Dole spoke to one of the KLA leaders, Mr. Krasniqi, this morning, and we expect the Kosovar Albanians to follow through on the commitment that they made through Ambassador Hill to the Secretary yesterday. But we will, again, not have a signature until we have one.

Clearly, the pressure is now focused on the Serbs. Ambassador Holbrooke is in Belgrade. He and Ambassador Hill are there. Ambassador Holbrooke is scheduled to meet with President Milutinovic today and President Milosevic tomorrow. He will be urging in the strongest possible terms Serb compliance with the agreements negotiated in October; Serb restraint in the period leading up to the scheduled talks on March 15; and Serb acceptance of the Rambouillet accords when the conference reconvenes. That is what he will be doing.

In the meanwhile, Ambassador Hill and others will be in touch with the Kosovar Albanians to arrange for the expected approval by them through a signature.

QUESTION: How much running room does Ambassador Holbrooke have to fine tune the Rambouillet accord?

MR. RUBIN: That is not his mission. His mission is to urge restraint by the Serb side prior to the accords; to demand compliance with the October agreements; and to explain to the Serbs why they must accept this agreement. Once the signature is attached by the Kosovar Albanians, we've been quite clear that they would have to agree to any changes. We expect that signature, and there is no discussion of material changes.

QUESTION: Are you saying, though, that, if the Kosovars have not yet signed the agreement that there may be -

MR. RUBIN: No, I'm not saying that.

QUESTION: Will he reiterate the NATO bombing threat to President Milosevic?

MR. RUBIN: I'm not going to describe publicly his talking points. I think the message is as I described it - demanding compliance; urging restraint; and explaining why they should sign the agreement.

Secretary General Solana has spoken to NATO's intentions, and that would be appropriate for him to do so. I think that President Milosevic knows what NATO's intentions are. As far as what Ambassador Holbrooke would specifically say on that subject, I don't think it's appropriate for me to state in advance before such a meeting. But I think the basic situation is pretty well-known.

QUESTION: Jamie, is one of the problems in getting to yes with the Kosovar Albanians, the question of exactly who will sign the document? It does seem to be several parties within that grouping. Is there some controversy over who would sign?

MR. RUBIN: The best way I can explain this is to make clear to you that what we're trying to do here is a rather unique thing. The Kosovar Albanians, for ten long years, engaged in essentially a passive, peaceful, non-cooperation with the Serb authorities who were oppressing them. After ten years of peaceful resistance, they went to a violent resistance through the operations of the KLA. This is a new organization; it is only a certain number of months old. It is not a fully unified organization.

Therefore, when we got together this delegation, which in and of itself was a difficult challenge, to get the delegation to Rambouillet to negotiate on behalf of both the KLA and the political leadership that it engaged in this peaceful resistance for ten long years, that it wasn't an easy proposition. They'd never operated as a unified entity before. This is new. They chose a chairman, Mr. Thaci, and at the end of the process they sent a letter by Mr. Surrai to the Secretary declaring their consensus position.

As far as who signs the document, so long as we believe it reflects the authoritative position of the political side of the house and the KLA side of the house, we will be satisfied. That doesn't mean we would expect any signature in any situation like this to involve the guaranteed approval of every single person involved. Clearly, there are going to be people who want a statement of independence immediately. Those people are going to exist. That's the reality of what happens when you let oppression turn into a civil conflict like this.

But we will have to make a judgment whether we think it does reflect the political and the KLA side of the delegation. We don't expect there to be a problem with that. They have to make the decision as to who signs it. They elected Mr. Thaci as their chairman for the purposes of Rambouillet, and if they want him to sign it and he signs it that's fine with us. If they want someone else from the KLA to sign it or if they want some other process, obviously we'd look at it to make sure we think it reflects both sides of the delegation - or both elements of the delegation.

QUESTION: Could several people sign for them so that you make sure --

MR. RUBIN: Sure. Well, there was a four-person presidency, sort of co- chairmanship, as well. Mr. Thaci was the chairman for the purposes of meetings, because somebody has to conduct the meetings; and then there was a four-person team of Mr. Thaci, Mr. Surrai, Dr. Rugova and Mr. Qosja, I believe; they represented the whole groups. So that would be plausible as well.

All I'm telling you is that getting a delegation together was a challenge, a difficult challenge. Getting an agreement negotiated that they would accept was an even more difficult challenge. We staved off that inability to do so most recently with the good work of Senator Dole and, obviously, the work of the Secretary in France. They've now indicated, through Ambassador Hill, that the KLA, which has been perceived to be the ones that really weren't sure yet, that they have voted to approve it. Now we need to get it authenticated through a signature. We'll be waiting, but we expect that to happen.

QUESTION: Since that statement to Ambassador Hill, there has been new statements coming from the KLA, one of them saying that their acceptance is contingent on there being no Serb attacks. Was that made clear to Ambassador Hill?

MR. RUBIN: I don't accept your premise to your question. Look, any reporter can go out there and find some member of the KLA to say something. I would expect some members of the KLA to say many different things.

Clearly, the Kosovar Albanians have a right to be concerned about Serb crackdowns. I do not believe that there has been an authoritative statement on behalf of the KLA saying they will not sign unless x, y and z. I believe there were reports attributed to certain members of the KLA expressing concern about continuing violence. We share that concern, but we do not believe that the decision of the KLA was contingent upon a condition as you described it.

QUESTION: Has there been any date set for the Kosovar delegation to come here?

MR. RUBIN: No.

QUESTION: Do you still expect them to come here?

MR. RUBIN: Yes.

QUESTION: You said before that Milosevic knows what NATO's intentions are and that the basic situation is pretty well-known. In diplomacy, words spoken and not spoken are often chosen very carefully with a purpose. I just wondered, is it still NATO's intention to subject Yugoslavia to air strikes if Milosevic doesn't sign - if Yugoslavia doesn't sign?

MR. RUBIN: Our position hasn't changed. Nothing has changed, and I wouldn't read more into it than that.

QUESTION: Could you give us a read-out if you have something from the meeting between the Secretary and the Greek opposition leader?

MR. RUBIN: Yes, it was a good meeting. They discussed Cyprus; they discussed Kosovo. They had a good meeting. It went pretty much as expected.

QUESTION: Can you give us the time of the meeting? Half an hour?

MR. RUBIN: 45 minutes.

QUESTION: Did they talk about the Ocalan matter at all?

MR. RUBIN: Our position on Ocalan is pretty well-known. I do believe it came up. But I will leave it to Mr. Karamanlis to describe his position. Our position on Ocalan is pretty well known, and we want to see him - and wanted always to see him - brought to justice. They did not discuss any internal Greek matters.

QUESTION: Who was present from your side?

MR. RUBIN: I'll have to get a list for you.

QUESTION: Do you know if Mr. Holbrooke, after Belgrade, will travel to Ankara or to Athens?

MR. RUBIN: I have not heard any suggestion of that.

QUESTION: Do you have any comments on the remarks of Mr. Simitis -- his last week's statements about condemning terrorism?

MR. RUBIN: I think I described that yesterday.

QUESTION: You didn't read the text, you said, of the -

MR. RUBIN: I'll have to get it afterwards for you.

QUESTION: I'm sorry, I just want to go back to this question about air strikes on Serbia.

MR. RUBIN: A little tag team?

QUESTION: Well, I mean, you're not saying it.

MR. RUBIN: There's no need to it. I'll give you a copy of every statement we've made on it. It still stands.

QUESTION: Okay, is NATO --

MR. RUBIN: I just don't want to say it a little differently right now and have you write a big story that something's changed.

QUESTION: Okay, well, there has been a lot of heat out of, I suppose, mostly European columnists and cartoonists about --

MR. RUBIN: I haven't seen those, but I'm sure you'll send me a collection.

QUESTION: About how bellicose the US is on this, and particularly the Secretary, to the point, it seems, of being out of sync with the rest of NATO. I'm just wondering whether NATO's position is still --

MR. RUBIN: Yes, NATO's position is still the same. I think - look, we are - for those of you who were there, and I know you were - in the run up to the meeting, at a time when it appeared, based on representations made by the Kosovar Albanian delegation that they were about to sign, there are severe consequences that flow from their signing and the Serbs not signing. We spoke to those, and all we're doing now is waiting for the Kosovar Albanians to sign and then the pressure will clearly turn on the Serbs in the same way as before.

We do not believe there's been any change in NATO's position or any of the key European allies. The fact that anonymous European officials criticize the United States during the course of a very difficult negotiation about a matter in Europe is pretty much standard fare in this business. Those anonymous officials often complain if we're not involved and then complain bitterly if we are involved. That's just the nature of being the United States, and we're kind of used to that.

QUESTION: On China, there's been an arrest. Do you have any comment on that situation?

MR. RUBIN: On the arrest, we have seen press reports of the detention of Wang Lixiong. We do not have independent confirmation of these reports. Wang is a well-known writer, who has written a popular book that the authorities have reportedly attempted to suppress. The book remains popular in pirated editions.

Mr. Wang, who appears to have been detained because his book offended the authorities -- should this be the case we would urge his immediate release. China has signed international covenants which guarantee freedom of individual expression. We call upon China to live up to its commitments.

QUESTION: Actually, I misspoke; I was talking about the scientist. I'll take the other one, though.

(Laughter.)

If you've got something on the scientist, I'll take that as well.

MR. RUBIN: Oh, on that. On the particular firing of Wen Ho Lee, I can only say that it's an ongoing investigation and it would be difficult for me to comment on it. Your questions need to be directed to the Department of Energy or the appropriate law enforcement authorities. But let me say that preventing the flow of weapons or other sensitive information to foreign nationals is a high priority for the Departments of State and Energy; that Presidential Decision Directive 61 directed the Department of Energy to create an office of counter-proliferation precisely to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to prevent inappropriate access to sensitive information and facilities.

More generally on this whole subject, we obviously take seriously these charges, which arose out of events that allegedly took place at nuclear weapons laboratories during the 1980s. CIA and Justice investigations are ongoing. Congress has been fully informed through the appropriate committees as information has become available. After briefings in July 1997, the Administration took quick steps to evaluate the information and develop new procedures to strengthen security in the nuclear weapons labs. A new Presidential Decision Directive, as I said, governing counter- intelligence issued in February 1998 is being implemented vigorously.

We impose strict measures to guard against inappropriate technology transfers to China's military and nuclear weapons programs. These include no sales to the PLA or nuclear weapons programs; strict review of dual-use technology, as to sophistication of technology as well as end user. We have also taken strong steps to halt China's proliferation of sensitive technology to other countries. We continue to review whether other steps are needed. That's where that situation stands.

QUESTION: Do you have any comment about the red carpet visit of Iranian President Khatemi in Italy?

MR. RUBIN: China first, then we'll go to Italy.

QUESTION: I know you don't want to comment on the ongoing investigation, but is it possible that foreign policy considerations could have muted protests to the Chinese on this matter?

MR. RUBIN: Could you please repeat the question?

QUESTION: Is it possible that the US Administration's desire for good relations with the Chinese could have muted its protest to the Chinese on this matter?

MR. RUBIN: Again, the question of protest -- we have no illusions about China's desire to acquire sensitive information and technology for military uses by many different means. It is absolutely not true that we downplayed any evidence of this. We took the issue seriously, as our actions demonstrate. Let's bear in mind that this espionage took place in the 1980s. Our first step was to evaluate the extent of Chinese espionage at US nuclear labs and its implications for Chinese nuclear weapons capabilities.

Even though it is difficult to resolve these issues, we determined that the threat was serious enough to warrant immediate action. In response, the Administration intensified investigation of possible espionage cases and strengthened security at the labs.

So we have been operating, as every Administration has been operating, under no illusions as to China, like other countries, desire to obtain sensitive information, and we've acted on it based on the evidence and not on any other - I mean, it's inconceivable that we would downplay concerns about espionage in a case that took place in the '80s. What I said to you yesterday is that we believe we need to engage with China and talk to China precisely to advance our national security, in cases like India and Pakistan, in cases like North Korea going nuclear. But it's absolutely not true that we downplayed any evidence.

QUESTION: Has this case been raised with the Chinese since it appeared in the media a couple days ago?

MR. RUBIN: I don't know the answer to that. The Secretary didn't - again, they've said they wouldn't do it, just the way every country that is trying to obtain sensitive information through such means says that. So it's not really a question of raising it with them; it's a question of finding out what happened and taking steps to remedy the situation and act on them.

It's difficult to go into all the detail in this forum, but in this area that is pretty standard fair for espionage.

QUESTION: It would seem pretty pro forma that the Secretary would speak to her Chinese counterpart.

MR. RUBIN: Not necessarily, when they've said it's not true. So they're not going to say anything different in private.

QUESTION: They also say that - on the trip, which I didn't go on - they say that they think there are some elements in the United States that are trying to --

MR. RUBIN: Yes, I spoke to that on the trip. I think the Secretary made clear to China that the fact that the United States is concerned about human rights, the fact that the United States is concerned about charges such as these, the fact that the United States is worried about proliferation problems is not the result of some hidden conspiracy; it's the result of a bipartisan concern in this country about Chinese policies and practices in cracking down on human rights and Chinese policies and practices in the area of proliferation.

We work on those problems. We think in the proliferation area we've made substantial progress. In the human rights area, there's obviously been major steps in the wrong direction. That is not the view of some small element; that is the view of a bipartisan consensus in this country.

QUESTION: Have you decided what you're going to do about the Geneva resolution?

MR. RUBIN: I have nothing new for you on that.

QUESTION: Jamie, do you have any information on reports that one of the three Americans who was killed in Colombia had received death threats from right wing paramilitary groups?

MR. RUBIN: I was asked about this yesterday. Did we get any new information? We have nothing new, but we will try to work on that for you.

QUESTION: What can you say about the situation in Chechnya?

MR. RUBIN: We understand that on March 5, the Russian official in charge of law enforcement liaison between Moscow and Groznyy was taken hostage. According to Russian press reports, the remaining members of the Russian representation in Chechnya were evacuated from Groznyy.

Speaking to reporters in Moscow, the Russian Interior Minister deplored the kidnapping and vowed to take action to free the general. Kidnappings in Chechnya and the surrounding republics are a serious deterrent to organizations interested in providing aid to the many needy in the region. It is our hope that central authorities, working with local law enforcement, will bring about an end to these crimes.

We remind all Americans of the State Department's Consular Information Sheet on Russia, which recommends Americans defer travel to Chechnya, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Dagestan and surrounding areas due to continued political strife and frequent kidnappings. That's all I have for you on Chechnya.

QUESTION: Oh, okay, I was wondering if you knew the Russian Security Council is having a meeting on the matter today.

MR. RUBIN: We'll try to get you some information on that.

QUESTION: I was wondering if you might have something to say about the possibility of renewed Russian attacks on Chechnya.

MR. RUBIN: I haven't heard that, but we'll try to get you something on that.

QUESTION: Were you able to get anything about warnings in the Antigua elections today?

MR. RUBIN: As a matter of fact, I was. Antigua and Barbuda are having a general election today to elect a new 17-member parliament. The incumbent Prime Minister, Lester Bird, is seeking a second consecutive term. Today's election is occurring five years since the last general election. The current government has invited a three-person team from the Commonwealth's secretariat to monitor the voting process.

The question of a threat to the Antiguan Government apparently refers to language in a 1998 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Antigua and Barbuda, which says "Antigua's democratic institutions of government remain under threat from individuals who have infiltrated government bodies to weaken the fledgling money laundering and off-shore business controls. Using their considerable financial influence on the government, they secured some changes that weakened anti-money laundering legislation and we do not believe the government has adequately addressed this threat."

In short, there is a corruption problem that we want to see them deal with, and that must be the threat question that you had asked me about yesterday. We don't have any plans to issue a Public Announcement on today's elections in Antigua and Barbuda. With respect to our Consular Information Sheet, if we receive information that warrants such an announcement of some increased danger or any other use of our consular program, we will take appropriate action.

On June 9, we indicated that American citizens should be aware that there's a caution about incidents of crime against tourists.

QUESTION: Do you have anything on whether the bodies of the Americans who were killed by the FARC in Venezuela are on their way home?

MR. RUBIN: They're expected shortly. I don't have a time for you, but I'll try to get it for you after the briefing.

QUESTION: Somebody had started to ask a question about Khatemi's visit to Italy.

MR. RUBIN: That's true; I forgot to come back to you. Please formulate your question again.

QUESTION: Do you have any comment about the red carpet visit of Iranian President Khatemi in Italy?

MR. RUBIN: We, as a goal, have stated that we support the reintegration of Iran into the international community. But we have said that needs to be done in conjunction with changes in Iranian policies and practices with respect to support for terrorism and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. We expect and trust that the Italian Government will convey these same concerns to their Iranian guest. We and our European allies all believe that we would like to see improvements in that area. There have been some, but we believe there is still a long way to go.

We obviously considered the elections in Iran to be a positive development, by which the people of Iran were able to express themselves freely. We have no reason to doubt the election was free and fair. But we still have concerns about the issues I mentioned, and we know that our allies in Europe share those same concerns and we would expect those to be raised.

QUESTION: What about Khatemi's visit to the Vatican? I believe he's showing up there today.

MR. RUBIN: I believe my understanding is he's expected to see the Pope later in the week.

QUESTION: Do you have any observation on that visit?

MR. RUBIN: Let me withhold comment on that until it happens.

QUESTION: You declared this election free and fair.

MR. RUBIN: I didn't declare, I said we have no reason to doubt it.

QUESTION: That's a term that carries a lot of weight.

MR. RUBIN: Well, free and fair may have been going too far. We have no evidence of any particular manipulation of the elections. If you were to have asked me that question - I was trying to step ahead of a question. I don't think we had international monitoring by which we could declare them free and fair, but we have no reason to dispute the turnout and the results.

QUESTION: Cambodia - the Prime Minister seems less and less interested in an international war crimes tribunal. Any comment?

MR. RUBIN: Yes, we are pleased that Cambodian authorities are proceeding now to file charges against Ta Mok. It is entirely appropriate for Cambodia to implement its domestic criminal law against Ta Mok. As we understand it, he has been formally charged with violations of a 1994 law outlawing the "Group of Democratic Kampuchea." We do not yet know the full scope of charges that may be brought against him in the Cambodian legal system.

None of this, however, precludes an eventual trial before an international criminal tribunal established to prosecute Ta Mok and other senior KR leaders, which is our long-standing preference and the reported recommendation of the UN group of experts.

We don't think this rules out the domestic proceedings -- consent by the Cambodians to an international trial. We look forward to further cooperation with the Cambodian Government on this point.

With respect to that, let me just point out that the Foreign Minister will travel to New York to meet with UN officials later this week. I would expect someone from our government in New York to be in touch with them. What we will be trying to do is to convince them of the importance of a real internationally sanctioned trial to ensure lasting reconciliation and justice for this brutal killer.

QUESTION: Is there a double-jeopardy, by chance?

MR. RUBIN: No, the lawyers don't regard that as double jeopardy.

QUESTION: The State Department lawyers have rendered an opinion on that now.

MR. RUBIN: Well, I don't know about an opinion - a formal opinion. I know that we don't not regard the one as precluding the other; and, therefore, by logical implication, we don't regard it as double jeopardy. That is my logical implication from our position -- that as far as we're concerned he can go through a domestic, legal process and still stand before a tribunal.

Let me just give you an example. If the only law he ends up being charged with is participation in an outlawed group, as opposed to the genocide or mass murder that he has been widely alleged to have led in Cambodia, that would not be double jeopardy. If you want me to take the question to our lawyers, if there was some proceeding that involved mass murder, I'm sure that the charges and the list of charges and the reasons for the charges would be different in the international forum than the domestic forum. I've heard nobody suggest any question of double jeopardy.

The question is whether -- Hun Sen has expressed some concern about the destabilizing effect of a trial by an international tribunal. We have said we disagree with that. We think that reconciliation, stability and justice would be better served in Cambodia by an international criminal proceeding. That is what we are going to be arguing to the Cambodians.

QUESTION: Do you have anything on that talks with the North Koreans?

MR. RUBIN: Other than to say our able Ambassador Kartman continues his marathon discussions with the North Koreans. They began on February 27 The number of meetings since then has been eight. They're continuing today. We are seeking steps by the North Koreans to remove fully our suspicions about the Kumchang-ni site, including by providing access to it. We have repeatedly stated that we are not prepared to pay North Korea to ensure compliance with its obligations.

We have suspicions about the nature of certain underground construction at Kumchang-ni, but we have no basis to conclude at this point that the North Koreans have violated the agreed framework. We are seeking access to the site to be able to confirm that North Korea remains in compliance with the agreed framework and that it will continue to meet its obligations. That is where we stand. If we have any developments, we will get them to you. But given the history of North Korean negotiations, I wouldn't assume that this need go quickly.

QUESTION: Jamie, on a different subject with the North Koreans, has decision been made on the WTO request for more aid for North Korea? They made a few -

MR. RUBIN: WHO. WFP. WTO. WHO. WFP. I have nothing for you on that. It has been our long-standing policy to provide food aid based on humanitarian need. We determine our response based on assessments by the WFP and other international humanitarian organizations -- maybe even the WTO -- and the resources available to us. I have nothing new for you on that.

QUESTION: As I understand it, the North Koreans are saying the whole argument in New York is about how much food aid would be required to enable the North Koreans to be flexible on the question of access to this underground site.

MR. RUBIN: Well, we have a long-standing policy and we will pursue that policy; and that is to provide food aid based on certain assessments, certain needs and certain resources. The North Koreans always try to tie these things together in ways that would suggest that it's different than our long-standing policy. We continue to explain to them and to you that we have a long-standing policy of providing food aid based on needs and assessments and resources. We will continue to pursue that.

QUESTION: On Iraq, there were reports about a number of executions of military personnel in the beginning of February. Do you have any information on that?

MR. RUBIN: I don't have anything new on that for you.

QUESTION: Is there anything old on that? We haven't even heard anything old on that.

(Laughter.)

MR. RUBIN: Some two weeks ago, there's some old stuff.

QUESTION: No, it was on the wires today, specifically -

MR. RUBIN: Right, but it may be -- I just don't have any new response to what was on the wires. But I will certainly urge our able staff at the NEA Bureau to give me information about responding to information that is on the wires.

QUESTION: Also, any response to the clashes over what Palestinians are calling a settlement expansion in Israel?

MR. RUBIN: I didn't know that was on the wires.

QUESTION: Well, the clashes were a couple of days ago, and they're sort of bickering about it now. I thought you all might have some words.

MR. RUBIN: Nope.

QUESTION: Thank you.

(The briefing concluded at 1:45 P.M.)


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