U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #11, 00-02-15
From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>
650
U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
I N D E X
Tuesday, February 15, 2000
Briefer: James P. Rubin
CROATIA/ALBANIA
1 Secretary's Travel to Croatia and Albania, February 18-19
UK/NORTHERN IRELAND
1-2 Reported IRA Pull Out of the Disarmament Talks
IRAQ
2-3 Resignation of World Food Program Official in Iraq
MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
3-4 Prospects for Resumption of Israeli-Syrian Talks
ISRAEL
4-5 Reported Remarks by Ambassador Indyk on Mutual Defense Treaty
OPEC
5 US Officials Discussions with OPEC and non-OPEC Producers
MEXICO
6 Reported Cartel "Bounty" for Murder of Border Patrol Agents
JAPAN
6,8 Possible Meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister
JAPAN/CHINA
8-9 Deputy Secretary Talbott's Travel to Japan and China
IRAN
6 Terry Anderson Lawsuit Against Iran
7 Parliamentary Election in Iran
7 Russian Oil Tanker/Contacts with Iran
IMF
7-8 IMF Managing Director Position/Candidate
FRY/SERBIA
9 EU Lifting Flight Ban/ Sanctions Policy
9-10 Appointment of New Defense Minister
RUSSIA
10 Department Official's Meeting with Chechen Official
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB #11
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2000, 12:36 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. RUBIN: Greetings. Welcome to the State Department briefing on this
here Tuesday. I have one announcement.
Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright will travel to Zagreb and Tirana,
Albania, on February 18th and 19th respectively. In Zagreb, the Secretary
will lead the US delegation attending the inauguration of Croatian
President-Elect Stjepan Mesic. She will congratulate the Croatian people
for choosing the path of economic and political reform necessary to
reintegrate Croatia into the rest of Europe.
In Tirana, the Secretary will meet with Albanian President Meidani and
Prime Minister Meta. She will recognize the crucial role played by the
people of Albania during the Kosovo crisis and the particularly important
way in which they stood out and dealt with the refugees as they came into
Albania. She will also emphasize the role Albania plays in regional
stability and seek to develop ways to promote greater prosperity in
Albania.
With that statement, I am here to take your questions.
QUESTION: Anything on the IRA announcement this morning?
MR. RUBIN: With respect to the IRA's statement, let me simply say that
the President has made clear that we want to see the parties make progress,
that we welcomed the progress that was made last week that was reflected in
the report of the Decommissioning Commission. For now, let me simply say
that we are aware of the reports and the statements. We will continue to
talk to all the parties and we will urge all of them to build on the
progress made last week, to remain engaged, and to carry through on
their responsibilities to work together to achieve full implementation
of the Good Friday Accord. That is what we will be urging all of the
parties to do.
QUESTION: That's as far as - basically, you've seen the reports but
you're still looking into what it might mean? Is that fair enough? You
don't want to comment more fully on the actual substance of the IRA
statement?
MR. RUBIN: I am aware of what the statement said about not engaging and
we are going to urge all the parties to build on the progress of last week
to remain engaged and carry through on their responsibilities, having seen
and being aware of this statement.
QUESTION: Okay. Can I change the subject?
QUESTION: Can I just quickly ask, does this make it more likely that the
US may become involved in some mediating role?
MR. RUBIN: I don't want to speculate on that. All I know is that we've
stayed in touch with all the parties. We will continue to stay in touch
with all the parties. The President has done enormous work in this area and
has always shown a willingness to help where it's appropriate. But for now,
what we're saying is that despite this statement that we're urging all the
parties, including Jerry Adams, to build on the progress of last week,
to remain engaged and to carry through on their responsibilities.
QUESTION: Now, the head of the WFP, World Food Program in Baghdad, has
quit. It seems like it's going to be, "Will the last UN official to leave
Iraq turn out the lights?" I'm just wondering if you have anything to say
about her resignation and the reasons for it, which are similar to the
reasons given by Mr. Von Sponeck.
MR. RUBIN: Well, I haven't seen exactly what she said. I'm aware of
another resignation and I can assure you that these are not the last UN
officials in Iraq. There are plenty of people working every day to try to
help the people of Iraq. Because the leaders have made these decisions
doesn't mean that the work won't continue. There are many other people
there. I could get you the numbers, but there are many other people
there.
With respect to the reasons given, there is a suggestion that somehow this
is personal. This is not personal. It is our view that the roles of the
humanitarian coordinator and the humanitarian officials there are not the
role of self-appointed spokesmen for the Security Council and the world as
to the wisdom of sanctions. This is not a personal issue; this is a
professional issue involved in people's professional duties.
If people believe that they can't in good conscience continue their work, I
think all of us respect that. There are obviously different views on the
wisdom of sanctions in the world. But when the Security Council has made a
decision to impose sanctions and all the members of the Council have
endorsed time and time again those sanctions, it's not up to a humanitarian
official -- who is there to implement a program that the United States and
the others started intended to generate revenue because Saddam Hussein
won't use his own revenue to pay for humanitarian goods and services for
the people of Iraq.
So when these well-intentioned individuals are concerned about the fate of
the Iraqi people, it is our view that they should direct their concern and
their blame-casting at the Iraqi regime, which refuses day after day, time
after time, to spend its hard currency helping its own people, so the
United Nations and the United States have to come up with a different way
to create revenue for the food and medicine and other supplies that are
being made available. If it were not for the US and the UN efforts in
this regard, billions of dollars of food and medicine would not have
gone to the people of Iraq.
So there is no question that we share concern about the people of Iraq. The
only people that don't seem to share any concern about the people of Iraq
are the members of the regime who would prefer to spend money on elaborate
palaces, elaborate cars, elaborate houses, amusement parks, man-made lakes
and many other luxury goods, rather than spend any of this hard currency
helping their own people.
QUESTION: An aside, and a kind of corollary to that is, you don't see the
two resignations as disrupting or affecting the programs?
MR. RUBIN: The program has existed before. You know, this is not the
first time individuals have decided that they would prefer not to hold
these posts. The program will continue because it is a program that we are
behind, the United Nations is behind. To the extent the Iraqis allow the
oil to be sold for this purpose, it will be spent for the purposes
specified by the resolution and we don't see this needing to interfere in
any significant way with the operations of the program.
QUESTION: Let me ask you, on the record, apparently there was a report in
an Arab newspaper that Syria and Israel peace talks are going to resume. I
believe the report said that the President-- well, I believe the report
said it would be announced shortly -- in order for you to avoid any sort of
conflict with any other office. Are these talks going to resume shortly?
MR. RUBIN: Let me just inform for those of you who are not aware of the
rules here, when I speak in the briefing room it is on the record, and when
the lights are on and the cameras are rolling, you can assume you can quote
me for attribution, by name, and it would be nice if you included my middle
initial.
(Laughter.)
With respect to the question --
QUESTION: Why?
MR. RUBIN: That's just a joke.
Do you want to talk about my middle initial? We can go on for five or six
minutes.
QUESTION: We had gotten some reaction earlier but I wanted to see what
your reaction from the podium would be.
MR. RUBIN: With respect to the question, we continue to have contact with
the Syrian government and the Israeli government about ways to build the
best possible base so that when the talks do resume, that each side will
have a higher confidence that its objectives in these peace talks can be
met and that its needs can be met.
I am not aware of any imminent announcement of the resumption of talks and
I am not aware of any reason to think that there is an imminent announcement
of the resumption of talks. There will continue to be contact, however,
between our government, the Syrian Government and our government and the
Israeli Government on this subject.
QUESTION: On somewhat the same topic, I have a report from a think tank
in Israel quoting Ambassador Indyk - and I'm not sure under which
circumstances he was quoted, lights on, lights off, et cetera - but it says
that Indyk has reportedly proposed that the US would commit to defend
Israel in the case of this potential treaty, in the case of an attack
involving weapons of mass destruction and long-range ballistic missiles.
Do you have any comment on these reports?
MR. RUBIN: Yes. I spoke to Ambassador Indyk yesterday and it's quite
clear that there have been a number of accounts of private conversations he
has had in Israel, and I'm not going to dignify the process by which
individuals can't have private conversations with individuals in Israel by
commenting on them specifically.
However, we have not made a decision to pursue a mutual defense treaty with
Israel. We have been engaged in a process to look at ways to strengthen and
deepen the bilateral US-Israeli strategic relationship, and we are
discussing a number of ideas in the security area and many of these
discussions are in a preliminary phase.
We have not consulted extensively with Congress on a number of these issues
that are being explored, but it is my understanding that the focus of our
efforts with respect to the new security environment that would be created
is on the subject of extending and expanding the existing type of
cooperation and the existing relationship, and not on any mutual defense
treaty. That doesn't mean that in any discussion, any serious discussion of
this issue, that that subject doesn't come up, but it is not being
pursued seriously at this time.
QUESTION: And as far as you know, Ambassador Indyk has not on the record -
and this even says proposed this - he has not on the record said that there
would be particular elements of weapons of mass destruction involving --
MR. RUBIN: Well, certainly one of the issues that Israel potentially
faces in the Middle East is the introduction of weapons of mass destruction
capabilities, and that has been a subject of discussion between us and the
Israelis for some time.
With respect to specific suggestions - and I can assure you, at least
according to Ambassador Indyk they have not been held on the record in any
forum - but these are accounts of private meetings he has had with Israeli
officials that then somehow magically find their way into the Israeli
press. And that isn't a criticism of the Israeli press; in fact, that's a
compliment.
With respect to the specific question of a defense treaty, it's not
something that our policymakers have chosen and are pursuing with the
Israelis, but that doesn't mean it was never mentioned in an wide-ranging
discussion of all the different options that exist out there. But it's not
something we're focusing our efforts on. We are focusing our efforts on
ways to expand and deepen the existing arrangements in the context of a
comprehensive peace agreement.
QUESTION: By complimenting the Israeli press just then, I take it to mean
that these reports are actually accurate. Am I assuming something that I
shouldn't be?
MR. RUBIN: I really don't understand the motivation for the question, let
alone how to answer it.
QUESTION: The motivation for the question is - I mean, are these reports
correct?
MR. RUBIN: I indicated today and yesterday that I don't intend to comment
on private communications between the United States Government and the
Israeli Government in any way, shape or form with respect to the kind of
dialogue that we and Israel have on very sensitive issues like this. I just
don't intend to comment on it.
Let's move to a different subject.
QUESTION: With regard to oil prices, which as you know has --
MR. RUBIN: Oil prices, yes.
QUESTION: Has the Secretary had contact with OPEC countries about the
impact of rising oil prices in order to exert pressure on them?
MR. RUBIN: Without getting into the details of diplomatic exchanges - are
you seeing a refrain develop here?
QUESTION: You are not having these conversations in Israel.
MR. RUBIN: Apparently. You might have a better ability to read about
them.
Without getting into the details of diplomatic exchanges, senior US
officials have and will continue to discuss the issues of oil with major
OPEC and non-OPEC producers. And those discussions, we will note the impact
on the United States and the global economy of the higher oil prices
brought about by coordinated oil production cuts.
Our position has been and will continue to be that we do not believe
cartels should be coordinating production levels among producers to set oil
prices.
QUESTION: On another subject?
MR. RUBIN: Yes.
QUESTION: Thank you. Mr. Rubin, there is a small but very disturbing
little wire summary. Basically the Border Patrol spokesman says that the
Juarez cartel is considered to be serious when they've offered a $200,000
bounty for murdering Border Patrol agents. I would just ask what the
reaction of the State Department is to that and what are we going to - what
can be done to protect those Border Patrol agents from paramilitary groups
in the employ of the cartel?
MR. RUBIN: We take very seriously any threat against US law enforcement
personnel. Additional security precautions are being taken and the matter
is being investigated but it would be inappropriate for me to comment on an
ongoing law enforcement investigation or specific security measures that
are being taken.
QUESTION: Do not the paramilitary resources of the Juarez cartel and
other Mexican cartels and the leadership of those cartels not themselves
have a bounty on their heads for being arrested and prosecuted? Is there
some kind of a reward system that you go out to them?
MR. RUBIN: We have had, and continue to have, a reward system. I will get
you the details of it as it applies to those particular questions.
QUESTION: Okay, thank you.
QUESTION: Do you have any information on when Secretary Albright may be
meeting with the Foreign Minister of Japan Kono on his visit to the United
States?
MR. RUBIN: I do not have a time for that and, when I can get you one, I
will.
QUESTION: Terry Anderson is at US District Court right now pushing
forward his lawsuit against Iran. The judge has ruled that Iran is in
default because it was notified of the hearings and that these are carried
through diplomatic channels - this communication. Can you tell us anything
about that?
MR. RUBIN: Well, I think as the legal process has gone forward in this
country, we have certainly made Iran aware of that process.
QUESTION: Do you answer for them?
MR. RUBIN: I wouldn't want to speak for them, but I think it wouldn't be
too much of an assumption for me to say that they don't accept the
jurisdiction or the awards.
QUESTION: Does the State Department have any other role in this? I'm just
not familiar with it.
MR. RUBIN: Well, the only other issue out there, of course, is the
question of attachment of diplomatic property, which is something that we
as a matter of principle have opposed in all cases.
QUESTION: Also on Iran?
MR. RUBIN: Yes.
QUESTION: Do you have any thoughts on the Iranian parliamentary election
which is upcoming, I believe, maybe Friday or so?
MR. RUBIN: Yes. We have watched very carefully and closely the developments
in Iran in recent years. We have been encouraged by the democratic
development there, including a freer press and increasingly free and fair
elections. We certainly have wanted, as the President and the Secretary
have indicated, to develop a dialogue with Iran where we could work on
common projects of interest, where we could discuss the issues that divide
us in an atmosphere of mutual respect, and to develop someday a constructive
relationship with Iran.
Obviously, there are still major problems that haven't gone away, but we
will be watching the election closely and we certainly hope that it is
conducted freely and fairly. Beyond that, it's our view that we, by
commenting too extensively on such an election in the middle of the process,
we won't be helping the situation.
QUESTION: On Iran, when the whole Russian oil tanker issue broke, there
was some indication that the US may have been in touch with Iran expressing
its concern about the fact that this tanker specifically but, in general,
tankers that might be smuggling this Iraqi oil hug the Iranian coastline.
MR. RUBIN: Beyond saying that the Security Council Sanctions Committee is
normally the venue for raising questions with member states about potential
actions that are inconsistent with the Security Council's resolution -- in
this case, on the prohibition on the export of Iraqi oil -- and there is
regular contact between the Sanctions Committees there and Iran and other
governments in this area -- because we have been concerned about the
increase in illicit oil exports from Iraq that have often traveled in
the way you've described. So that has been something the Security
Council Sanctions Committee has raised from time to time with Iran and,
beyond that, I wouldn't be in a position to comment.
QUESTION: So you can't or won't say whether there have been bilateral --
MR. RUBIN: It has been my practice to not comment on messages that may or
may not be sent through various means. Yes, any specific message other than
confirming that there is an ability to do so. Yes.
QUESTION: Do you have anything you can say about reports that the 15-
nation European Union has reached informal agreement on backing World Bank
Executive Koch-Weser as its IMF candidate?
MR. RUBIN: I think it has generally been our view that the question of
the new managing director is a key decision for the international community
to make. Traditionally, the managing director of the IMF has been a
European. We believe that it is important to have the strongest possible
managing director for the IMF and it is important to identify a leader of
considerable experience and judgment with credibility in the markets who
is able to command a strong consensus among all IMF members and it
is important, obviously, for the new managing director to be acceptable not
just to the Europeans but to the membership as a whole.
Beyond saying that, I don't care to comment on any specific individuals.
QUESTION: The United States delegation led by Mr. Talbott reportedly is
scheduled to visit Beijing via Tokyo. If so, could you kindly elaborate on
the makeup of the delegation and the purpose of that visit?
MR. RUBIN: Yes. Deputy Secretary Talbott is leading a delegation that
includes senior members of the Administration, including General Ralston,
including Under Secretary of Defense Walt Slocombe and including the highly
skilled, experienced and terrific Deputy National Security Advisor Jim
Steinberg who are - no, he's a friend of mine.
The delegation is going to be traveling to both China and Japan. Obviously,
with respect to China, they will be discussing a number of issues that we
hope to improve our dialogue with China on, including military-to-military
ties, including nonproliferation. I think there will be a special emphasis
on the National Missile Defense program that we have developed and they
will be pursuing information about the threat that has emerged from
countries around the world and the nature of our program to combat that
threat and the reasons why we think it can be pursued while maintaining
the fundamental principles of the ABM Treaty.
In Japan, they will be engaged in a wide-ranging discussion of our
longstanding relationship with Japan, including the defense side of that
relationship.
And those are the major points of that trip.
QUESTION: Is it fair to say also in light of the earlier question about
the Japanese Foreign Minister, that he might be setting the stage for a
meeting between the Japanese Foreign Minister and Secretary Albright?
MR. RUBIN: I think it would certainly be that that would be part of the
discussions, but I think that that is going on a little bit parallel as
well and not needing that kind of a full inter-agency team to set up that
kind of meeting. I mean, we meet regularly with the Foreign Minister of
Japan. It's usually just a scheduling question as to when.
QUESTION: Do you know when they are going to be in Beijing?
MR. RUBIN: On their dates, one moment please. February 14th through 18th,
Japan and China. I don't have a breakdown of that. I will try to get that
for you.
I would also add that in the case of China, Deputy Secretary Talbott's team,
by the way, arrived in Japan today. Talks will continue tomorrow. So that
would suggest to me that they would be in China at the end of the week, on
Friday.
The trip will also include an elaboration and a continuation of our
strategic dialogue with China that the Secretary has been holding with both
Foreign Minister Tang and Vice Minister - I'm not sure his precise title -
Qian Qichen, who used to be the foreign minister who has now been promoted,
Vice Premiere Qian Qichen -- that she has been holding for some time about
a wide range of interests that we both have in subjects like North Korea,
the India-Pakistan question, proliferation on the subcontinent, a
wide range of strategic issues that we have engaged in.
QUESTION: Do you have anything regarding yesterday's decision by the
European Union to suspend flight ban to Serbia and, at the same time, to
strengthen some other sanctions to get --
MR. RUBIN: Right. As some of you may know, last week Secretary Albright
met with Foreign Minister Cook and specifically worked out to her
satisfaction a sharpening of the sanctions tool indicating, as she did,
that sanctions are not an ideology; they are a tool to achieve an
objective. And by strengthening the financial sanctions in the very ways
that we have sought - namely, increasing personnel, informing companies in
advance of how the sanctions work, reporting on the progress of these
financial sanctions, as well as expanding the list of Yugoslavs who are on
the visa ban, the travel ban list - that this would put increasing pressure
on the regime, and; in recognition of the steps that the opposition has
taken to unify, to develop a joint program, to work on common lists
for elections, that we responded to their calls to have a suspension for
several months of the ban on flights in and out of Yugoslavia to Europe.
So that is something that Secretary Albright and Foreign Minister Cook had
consulted about, and she indicated general support for that and so we
believe that this combination of sharpening the tool of sanctions by
tightening and strengthening of financial and travel sanctions while
permitting a wider group of Yugoslav Serbian citizens to travel back and
forth by aircraft was an appropriate mix.
QUESTION: Jamie, is US Government going to follow the European lines and
to allow American companies to fly to Serbia?
MR. RUBIN: We have no plans for that at this time.
QUESTION: Would you like to comment on the appointment of - I'm not going
to try to say his first name --
MR. RUBIN: I do want to know what it's like.
QUESTION: General Ojdanic as the new defense minister in Yugoslavia, who
is also the chief of staff and a war crimes suspect, to replace the guy who
was --
MR. RUBIN: Well, I mean, I think any official in the top levels of the
Yugoslav regime obviously are living in a criminal environment and,
therefore, they need to be aware of the dangers of that criminal environment.
We've talked about that for a long time and so it's not a job I'd want when
I leave government.
QUESTION: So you're taking yourself off the list?
MR. RUBIN: They've probably taken me off.
QUESTION: Jamie, I understand yesterday for the first time US State
Department officials met in this building with some Chechn personalities.
Can you tell us who they were and what the conversation was about?
MR. RUBIN: Yes. We did have meetings in the Department yesterday with
Chechen officials. Office Directors from our Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor and the Office of Russian Affairs, as well as the Bureau
of Population, Refugees and Migration met with Deputy Chairman of the
Chechen Parliament Bechaev at the State Department. We focused on human
rights and humanitarian issues, and we made clear our view that all parties
in the conflict should cease fighting and intensify the political dialogue
to bring about a lasting peace.
Since the focus of the discussion was humanitarian issues, we deemed it
appropriate for this meeting to take place in the offices of the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
QUESTION: First, can you give us the spelling on this guy's last
name?
MR. RUBIN: Yes, the spelling I have for him is Deputy Chairman of the
Chechen Parliament Seilam, S-e-i-l-a-m, Bechaev, B-e-c-h-a-e-v.
QUESTION: Okay. And did the question of Mr. Babitskiy come up at
all?
MR. RUBIN: I'm not aware of that, but I'll have to check that for
you.
QUESTION: He was alone - Bechaev?
MR. RUBIN: Yes.
QUESTION: In answer to my yesterday's pending question, if the US
Government has a list of suspects of the November 17 terrorist organization
list?
MR. RUBIN: I do not have any update, but I will check with my able Deputy,
Jim Foley, to try to help you out in that regard.
(The briefing was concluded at 1:10 P.M.)
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