USIA - Burns Details U.S. Views on Major Foreign Issues, 97-01-22
From: The United States Information Agency (USIA) Gopher at <gopher://gopher.usia.gov>
BURNS DETAILS U.S. VIEWS ON MAJOR FOREIGN ISSUES
(M. East, S. Asia, France, Russia, China, Cyprus, Colombia) (720)
By Rick Marshall
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- State Department Spokesman Nick Burns answered questions from
the international press here January 22 on a wide range of issues facing
U.S. foreign policy.
Speaking at a special briefing at the Foreign Press Center just minutes
after the Senate unanimously confirmed Madeleine Albright as the new U.S.
Secretary of State, Burns called Albright "an inspired appointment" and
said that her experience made her extremely "well-prepared" for the
post.
Asked about South Asia's relations with the United States, Burns said that
the Clinton Administration had long believed that South Asia was an area of
great importance to the United States and predicted that the U.S. interest
in the region would continue to grow. He noted that Assistant Secretary of
State Robin Raphel was in Islamabad this week and would be heading to Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh and India in the coming days.
On French relations, Burns expressed hope that 1997 would be a year of
close and amicable relations. While conceding that 1996 had seen some
"rough moments" between the two nations, Burns said that both Washington
and Paris regretted this and that there was "too much at stake" to let
small differences "cloud our relationship." He went on to say that an early
meeting with French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette would be one of
Albright's top priorities.
Turning to Russia, Burns said that the United States hopes a charter
detailing Russia's relationship with the North American Treaty Organization
(NATO) can be worked out in time for the Alliance summit
in July. He made clear, however, that no outside country could have a veto
over internal NATO decisions.
Burns also noted that Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott would be
meeting Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and Foreign Minister
Yevgeniy Primakov this week in preparation for the upcoming Gore-Chernomyrdin
Commission talks, which are scheduled to take place in Washington in early
February.
Asked about skipping over the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty --
which the United States Senate has ratified but the Russian Duma has not --
in order to begin negotiations directly on a START III treaty, Burns said
the United States was not interested in such an approach. It is in the
interests of everyone to complete START II before going on to START III, he
commented.
On the Middle East, Burns stressed the historic commitment of the United
States to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace between Israel and its
Arab neighbors and said that as secretary of state, Albright would be
fundamentally committed to achieving this goal.
Asked about reports that Beijing was considering scaling back the civil
liberties enjoyed by Hong Kong when the island reverts to Chinese control
this summer, Burns said that the United States is "very disappointed ...
very seriously concerned" and urged the Chinese government not to go
forward with the move. How China responds to the transfer of Hong Kong will
be an important indicator of U.S.-Chinese relations, he added.
Burns noted, however, that the United States believes it is now "on the
right track" with China and that finding a way to establish good relations
with the country is a major U.S. objective for the 21st century. He added
that Albright is looking forward to a visit from Chinese Vice Premier and
Foreign Minister Qian Qichen. No date has been set for that visit.
On Cyprus, Burns expressed hope that the recent visit by Carey Cavanaugh, a
senior State Department official, would help cool the "hot rhetoric" which
has overtaken the region in the past few weeks. The recent Cypriot decision
to purchase Russian missiles "is not a helpful step," Burns said.
Turning to Latin America, Burns noted that the President is planning to
visit there this year. He also said that the United States is pleased that
the Canadian foreign minister planned to raise human rights issues during
his current visit to Cuba. The Cuban government has recently arrested a
number of human rights activists, continuing a Cuban "tradition" which goes
back 38 years, he added.
As for the recent sentences handed out to some prominent Colombian drug
lords, Burns said that the United States believes they were far too
lenient.
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