1 U.S. Initial Contribution of $125 Million to The United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees
1-3 Remarks on Secretary of State-designate Powell and the transition.
Update on meeting between Secretary Albright and
Secretary-designate Powell.
4-6 Update on Peace Process and the proposed talks in Washington.
Current administration's expectations of a deal.
8-9 Update on activities of Fact-Finding Committee. Funding issue.
7 Recent verdict regarding former Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman in Bangladesh.
8 Update on the situation in Cyprus. Comment on NYT article.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB # 127
MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2000 1:30 P.M. (ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE
NOTED)
MR. REEKER: Welcome back to the State Department, everybody, on this fine
Monday. It is a pleasure to be here. Ambassador Boucher is on some well-
earned leave. The Secretary of State, of course, arrived back from her trip
to Africa and Europe on Saturday evening, and so I am here to take your
questions.
I will have one statement that we will put out after the briefing
describing the US' initial contribution of $125 million to the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and we are very pleased to announce
that for their 2001 annual program. As many of you know, this year -- in
fact, December 14th -- marked the 50th anniversary of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees, and we wish to take this opportunity to express
our deep appreciation and commitment to the UNHCR and to its staff for
their untiring work on behalf of refugees throughout the world during the
past 50 years. So we will put that statement out after the briefing.
I also would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Spokesman, and
now Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, Richard Boucher, whose
nomination was finally confirmed by the Senate on Friday afternoon. So now
that he is enjoying that well-earned week off, wherever he may be, if he
hears this, we all are very pleased about that here in the Bureau of Public
Affairs.
With that, let me turn to Mr. Gedda of the Associated Press.
QUESTION: Can we have a filing break to report on Richard's success?
(Laughter.)
QUESTION: What can you tell us about General Powell's contacts with
members of the Administration, including the Secretary?
MR. REEKER: Well, I can certainly talk a little bit about contacts with
Secretary Albright. As those of you who were on or represented on the
aircraft with the Secretary Saturday afternoon, you will know that
Secretary Albright telephoned General and now Secretary of State-designate
Powell from her aircraft en route from Brussels back to Washington. She
phoned him just before the formal announcement of his nomination to
congratulate him. She offered her warmest congratulations, noted that
General Powell is a leader of proven experience, integrity and patriotism.
We had a short statement that we put out then, and then the Secretary did
speak briefly with some of your colleagues who were on the aircraft with us,
and they had a very nice conversation on the phone. At that time, they
promised to get together as soon as possible, and indeed, yesterday, Sunday,
here in Washington, the Secretary met with Secretary-designate Powell for
about three hours -- more than three hours, in fact -- at her residence in
Georgetown yesterday afternoon.
The Secretary characterized that meeting as excellent and very productive,
and both parties agreed to continue those discussions throughout the
transition. You will have noted from the Secretary's earlier statements
that she has promised to do everything she can to make the transition go as
smoothly as possible. She noted how smooth her transition had been, and the
truly excellent relationship she has had as Secretary of State with her
predecessors, how she has called on them on a regular basis and has offered
to do all she can to help Secretary-designate Powell as he transitions into
the job.
QUESTION: What about his meetings here today?
MR. REEKER: The Secretary of State-designate has been here in the
Department of State this morning. I believe he arrived fairly early this
morning, and he has had meetings with some Department officials, including
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Pickering, Under
Secretary of State for Management Bonnie Cohen, and I believe he was also
hoping to meet with Assistant Secretary for Human Resources Marc Grossman,
in an initial round of talks to discuss transition matters generally and
obviously to look at how we will move forward now from today on.
QUESTION: Do you know if he is still here? Is he here now?
MR. REEKER: I am not certain if he is still in the building at this point
or not. But we will try to work that out.
QUESTION: Making the pizza line?
MR. REEKER: And we will try to introduce the Secretary-designate to the
pizza line just as soon as possible. We will also try to work out, pursuant
to his wishes and his team's wishes, how we will handle contacts with the
Secretary-designate and his team right up until the time that he then
becomes Secretary of State.
QUESTION: Has he notified you yet in terms of coming into the building
that he would have his transition team come in? Have you all received --
MR. REEKER: That is, I believe, what -- technically, that occurred this
morning by coming in. He has been using the offices set aside on the first
floor for that purpose, and I think the focus of the discussions obviously
is probably on the next steps in terms of that transition. So we will be
staying tuned and all working very hard to make this run as smoothly as
possible.
QUESTION: Different subject?
MR. REEKER: Let's just see if anybody has anything on --
QUESTION: I imagine these transition folks have unescorted access above
the second floor. Do they?
MR. REEKER: I would have to check at what point security clearances are
made and such so that building passes and the type of those passes are
presented. But I will note that the transition offices obviously are on the
first floor, so today there is no problem with that. And obviously
officials have been coming down to the Secretary-designate's office in that
transition suite to meet with him and with --
QUESTION: Remember, zero tolerance now.
MR. REEKER: Anything else on this subject?
QUESTION: I'd like to move onto the Global Trends 2015 report, and what
reaction, if any, you all have in this building, particularly to some of
the areas of concern that they ran through, which I can go into now or wait
until you do an initial reaction.
MR. REEKER: I think obviously you probably read in the press about the
Global Trends 2015 report which was released by the National Intelligence
Council, which is made up obviously of representatives of the intelligence
community, including the Department of State as well as outside experts.
This is really an update on a report that was done several years ago. I
believe at that time it was called Global Trends 2010 in terms of trying to
analyze threat assessments, where we will be, trends in the global,
political, economic, and it is provided to policymakers. In fact, I believe
the report was provided to policymakers sometime last week.
It really is something that sort of speaks for itself, and I would let you
read it yourselves. It is available on the CIA website, . And it is not
just something that we would have any particular comment on. It is
obviously used by policymakers as they develop policy options and the
decision-making process that takes place here.
QUESTION: It talked about increasing terrorist threats from chemical and
nuclear and biological weapons. What does that say to you in terms of your
needs and how well prepared --
MR. REEKER: I think we have talked certainly from this podium and from
this building -- Secretary Albright has discussed and indeed the President
has also discussed the challenges that face us. I would just refer you, I
think generally, to the President's two major foreign policy speeches in
the last couple of weeks laying out our need to remain engaged and to
address the challenges of a global age. I think a lot of the things that
are highlighted in this report in terms of trends that experts anticipate
are things that we have talked about and focused on, certainly in the last
four and eight years. And these are things that obviously policymakers of a
new administration will also need to be focused on.
QUESTION: Is this a blueprint for the next several years, until the next
report of this sort comes out?
MR. REEKER: This is simply what it is: It is a report prepared by a very
eminent council made up, as I said, from experts both inside the intelligence
community and experts outside to provide policymakers with a very useful
source exhibiting some of the trends that they feel we can anticipate as
the policymakers go ahead to make the decisions to establish the policies
and the needs for our security obviously, and what we can do to make the
right choices for America's security, for America's prosperity, and to
protect our values and the things that go into making our foreign
policy.
QUESTION: Could you fill us in on the logistics of the Middle East talks,
please -- when they start, what format, where they will be, what format
they will take, how long they'll last, that kind of thing?
MR. REEKER: I don't think it will come as any great surprise to you that
I don't have a lot to give you in terms of details and logistics, but let's
talk about that. A number of you, of course, have seen the press reports on
that. Just to confirm that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will be
arriving in Washington tomorrow. That would be Tuesday. They are going to
be engaging in parallel bilateral discussions with US officials, and there
may also be trilateral discussions.
Special Middle East Coordinator Dennis Ross and his deputy, Aaron Miller,
will lead contacts with the parties from the US side, and they will
initially meet with negotiators from each party. I believe the parties will
be represented by Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami and for the
Palestinians Saeb Erekat.
I know they will be meeting in the greater Washington area at a location of
which I have no details, and I don't have scheduling details at this point
either. But we do expect them to arrive tomorrow, Tuesday, and I think
probably the first order of business may be a meeting with each team by the
US officials that I mentioned, who will be leading our presence in
that.
QUESTION: Can you tell us where they are going to stay at this undisclosed
location in the greater Washington area?
MR. REEKER: I just don't have any of those details in terms of billeting
or messing or any of the other subjects.
QUESTION: Okay. Does the Secretary plan to meet them at any stage, or the
President indeed?
MR. REEKER: Obviously the President and the Secretary will be following
the discussions very closely. I think meetings may be under consideration,
but as of right now, there is no decision on scheduling any meetings. As
you know, both the President and the Secretary have said all along that
they are willing to do whatever they can to assist the parties in their
efforts. I think it is fairly clear that our focus right now is going to be
on these planned discussions here in Washington.
I think it is an opportunity for the parties to have much-needed discussions.
Obviously the leaders on both sides have agreed to have their representatives
travel here to have parallel bilateral discussions during the week. They
have asked us to support their efforts; we have always said we would, and
we have agreed to do so. Obviously, again, it is the parties' decision to
do that. They each made that decision, and we certainly hope that these
meetings can alleviate the situation. We will support their efforts, but I
want to just stress that it is very critical that the cycle of violence in
the region be broken because, if negotiations are to be successful, the
situation on the ground really has to change.
I think it goes without saying that violence can never produce an agreement,
that only negotiations will produce an agreement. There is really no other
way. So we hope that this first step is a hopeful sign, and clearly they
have made a decision to send these representatives. It is essential that
the cycle of violence be broken. We have had 11 weeks of very difficult,
traumatic experiences, and there is an enormous amount of work to be
done.
QUESTION: Phil, obviously time is of the essence. The Administration only
has a month left. Is the Clinton Administration still -- does it still
think that it is possible that a final peace deal can be achieved before --
MR. REEKER: As I said, the President and the Secretary have both pledged
all along their commitment to do everything they can to support the peace
efforts in the Middle East as long as they are both in office, obviously
until January 20th, and that is what they have agreed to do here. We have
always said we stand ready to help; this is a process for the two parties.
They have made the decision to send representatives here, to send
negotiators to Washington. So we are going to take this one step at a time
and see where things stand.
QUESTION: In terms of sort of expectations right now, does the Administration
-- right now is it going to -- when it leaves office, would it be satisfied
if it was merely able to end the 11 weeks of violence, or would you say
that the Administration is still sort of realistically expecting that a
peace deal, a final peace deal, is possible?
MR. REEKER: I think, in being realistic, what we are looking at is that
this is an important first step. It is a hopeful sign that both sides made
this decision to send negotiators here. We are going to meet with them.
There are going to be the parallel bilateral discussions held with US
officials, and there may be some trilateral discussions. So we just need to
see what comes out of that.
Obviously, as I said, the President and the Secretary will be following
this very closely and making any decisions about meetings that they might
have. I think we all know that US support for Middle East peace is not a
partisan issue. It has been a top priority for all US administrations,
Republican and Democratic, and it is going to remain so in the future. So
we continue to be pledged to do whatever we can to facilitate what the
parties think they can do to move things ahead. Obviously we want to see
the cycle of violence broken and we want to see the two sides back on the
path to peace. That is the ultimate goal, and we will just have to see one
step at a time.
QUESTION: Obviously this must have come up in your discussions or the
Secretary's discussions with the transition team and with Secretary of
State Designate Powell. Do they in any sense kind of endorse your efforts,
encourage you to press on with this Middle East peacemaking? Have they said,
for example, that they would pick up where you leave off?
MR. REEKER: I am just not going to be in a position to describe the
specific discussion when the Secretary met with the Secretary-designate
yesterday at her residence. They met for over three hours, just the two of
them. I was not in those discussions, and the Secretary gave a general
description to me that they excellent and very productive talks. So I think
I will let the transition team obviously speak for their own views. There
have been plenty of suggestions in the media from things.
I think one of the things we have to focus on here -- and everyone is in
agreement -- that President Clinton and Secretary Albright have continuing
responsibilities, constitutional responsibilities, to conduct foreign
policy until January the 20th, and they are going to do that in accordance
with what they have said all along in terms of the Middle East and their
willingness to do all we can to help that process. And obviously, as both
the President and the Secretary have indicated, we are going to keep the
transition team fully informed of any decisions or major developments, but
certainly of any decisions being made in that vein. So we will just see
where these things go.
QUESTION: New subject? Can you update us, please, on Mr. Colombini, who
is now in Cuba? I believe he met with US officials yesterday to find out
how they could help him get his son back.
MR. REEKER: My understanding is that Mr. Colombini has gone to Cuba and
that he did have a meeting with some of the Interests Section officials.
But other than that, he is there working on the situation and I just don't
have any particular details. I would refer you to him.
QUESTION: He has given a waiver of privacy, though, hasn't he? He has
allowed you to talk about the case publicly?
MR. REEKER: I am just not even particularly familiar with anything else
except that he has gone -- I am sure, at least in the past, he and his
lawyer have been most accessible to the media and you can get directly from
him.
QUESTION: Thank you very much, Mr. Reeker. This is Arshad with The Daily
Inqilab of Bangladesh.
MR. REEKER: Always good to see you.
QUESTION: Yes, thank you very much. Following the recent verdict of the
death reference case of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,
there was a series of attack against judges and innocent people, and this
has been almost being sponsored by the ruling Awami League party.
Now, in this situation where democracy and the rule of law is already being
threatened by such attacks, what is the position of the State Department in
reference to this very touchy affair of the reference -- death reference of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman?
MR. REEKER: I don't have any specific readouts or updates on the
situation you are describing. I think we have talked before about the
situation generally in Bangladesh. Our Embassy keeps very much abreast of
developments there. Our Human Rights Report annually outlines concerns and
observations we make in that vein in terms of rule of law, development of
democracy, and the observance of human rights, so I would just refer you to
that. I don't have any particular update, but we will certainly try to
check with our Embassy if there is anything we want to add to that.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: Another subject?
MR. REEKER: Another subject.
QUESTION: Your Ambassador to Greece Nicholas Burns here is in the town
today. May we know the reason for his visit? Otherwise, is there any
discussion to provide to Nicholas Burns any role in the new Bush Administration,
or he came over here to discuss any new developments in the Greek-US
affairs?
MR. REEKER: I am not aware of Ambassador Burns' travel arrangements. I
might suggest that, given that it is the week before Christmas, that
Ambassador Burns may have personal reasons for taking leave and being in
the United States, perhaps with his family. But I certainly wouldn't want
to speak on his behalf. I am not aware of any particular meetings he has in
the Department, although I would add that when officials, including
Ambassadors, travel to the States they often take the opportunity if they
are in Washington to come by the Department at some point. But I am not
aware of anything particularly important.
In terms of the plans for the future administration, I would suggest you
wait until we can talk to the transition team and figure out how to direct
their questions there.
QUESTION: How do you comment that today's big story in The New York Times
by which, despite the Greek-Turkish rapprochement, Cyprus problem is not
going to be solved, not at all?
MR. REEKER: The Cyprus situation is one that, as you know, the United
States has been following closely. The United Nations has had a tremendous
role in that and, as I understand it, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has
invited the two leaders of the Cyprus question to return to Geneva to
continue that process of talks, and that would continue in late January.
We certainly believe, as we have said here so often, that the interests of
Turkish Cypriots and Turkey are best served by continuing the process. We
strongly support the UN process, and the efforts that the Secretary General
has made are really tremendous, and we support those. And I think that that
is the best way to achieve a comprehensive settlement on Cyprus which will
be in the best interests of all concerned.
QUESTION: Ambassador Nicholas Burns today stated in The New York Times
regarding Greece and Turkey, "They have made a strategic decision of
rapprochement, and I think that the decision holds despite the problems of
the last two months."
How do you comment on that?
MR. REEKER: I don't. I think it stands for itself.
QUESTION: What about the Mitchell mission? I guess we can call it that.
Have they had any contact with these two individuals that are coming to
Washington? Are they going to be here during the time that --
MR. REEKER: I am not aware of their -- an update on the Mitchell
committee activity. And as we have said many times from here, that is not a
US Government entity or organization. We do have a number that you can
contact Senator Mitchell's office and ask them what their activities are. I
am not aware of their involvement in the talks that will be taking place
here.
QUESTION: Could I have a follow-up on that? Are you saying that the
Mitchell mission was not inspired in any way by the Department of State or -
-
MR. REEKER: Oh, yes. I mean, I think we have spoken at great length about
the Mitchell mission and the creation of that fact-finding committee. You
will recall that that came out of the Sharm el Sheikh agreements that the
President and Secretary Albright very much helped to design. The President
lent his weight to that, but it is not a US Government commission, and we
have discussed that, I know, several times from here. It is an independent
commission that has some former American officials on it, as well as
eminent persons from other countries.
So they work independently and they have provided us with a contact number
for Senator Mitchell, who is chairman of that committee, for his office,
and they have a staff that can answer your questions on that. That's just
not something that we are dealing with here.
QUESTION: In follow-up, I tried Senator Mitchell's office, and I must say
I didn't get very far. But I do have a question for you. Where does the
money come from for the Mitchell mission?
MR. REEKER: We would have to check into that. I don't know, and I can see
if -- I think that may be something we can find an answer to quite quickly.
I just don't know.
QUESTION: How does it look for bringing the potential new sanctions on
the Taliban to a vote this week in the UN? It is perhaps tomorrow?
MR. REEKER: I would refer you to the UN. You know, we had a background
briefing and some on-the-record briefings Friday --
QUESTION: What about as a co-sponsor? I thought we might know -- have
some inside knowledge.
MR. REEKER: I just don't have a specific update on the schedule up there,
but we can certainly keep checking that for you, or check directly with our
mission at the UN.
QUESTION: And is our recent travel warning on Afghanistan in connection
with the potential new sanctions? There is a story out today that the UN is
pulling its aid workers out of Afghanistan for fear that these new
sanctions would --
MR. REEKER: I believe we have had a travel warning on Afghanistan for as
long as I can remember.
QUESTION: There was a new one, wasn't there?
MR. REEKER: They are updated regularly to reflect a number of things, but
I would have to check in -- I don't know that there is a direct connection
with that. But obviously that has been an area of great concern to us, and
certainly on the consular information part.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) -- the EU-US summit today here in Washington?
MR. REEKER: Well, as you know, that is taking place largely over at the
White House. Twice a year, the top leaders of the United States and the
European Union get together to discuss a range of issues, coordinate
policies. Those summits alternate between the United States and the country
currently occupying the EU presidency, which at this time is France.
I think you will recall that the last summit was held in Lisbon when
Portugal was the President. So President Clinton is hosting this summit at
the White House. There was a ministerial meeting this morning in which
Secretary Albright met with French Foreign Minister Vedrine representing
the European Union, and also Mr. Prodi, Romano Prodi, the Commission
President of the European Commission.
There is a wide set of topics on the agenda, including the situation in
Southeast Europe, European Security and Defense Policy, trade relations,
and obviously some of the global issues we discussed, like the joint fight
against disease in Africa.
I believe there is expected to be a briefing at the White House this
afternoon, so you may want to check with the National Security Council, and
they can tell you what time they will have some sort of background and
readout of today's meetings. And I also believe that the leaders will
consider some statements that may be released jointly and declarations on
that. But other than that, I don't have any specific readouts from the
meetings. I would just refer you to the White House for those.
I think that's it. Thanks.
(The briefing was concluded at 2:00 P.M.)
