U.S.-European Union Joint Press Conference With Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard R. Bot, EU High Representative Javier Solana, and EU Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner Secretary Colin L. Powell
Press Center, Het Binnenhof
The Hague, Netherlands
December 10, 2004 SECRETARY POWELL: ...the U.S.-EU relationship is built on common values and principles as well as the shared objectives of freedom, peace and opportunity for all people... ...as my colleagues have noted, we tackled many tough issues in the course of our conversations today. We committed once again, I'll reinforce this, to fighting terrorism on a global scale. We both want Iraq's transformation to succeed, and we are making important steps to support Iraq's reconstruction and the upcoming elections. Similarly we will continue to support the upcoming Palestinian elections that are upcoming. And we will do everything we can to promote peace and democratic stability throughout the broader Middle East. With regards to Iran, we remain steadfast in working for non-proliferation. In Afghanistan, we are looking at how best to support the parliamentary elections next spring. Our discussions on Russia, China, and the Balkans and a number of other areas were very fruitful and I think quite productive. We also took a good look at the situation in the Balkans, and we are especially pleased with the successful handover from SFOR [Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina] to EUFOR [European Union Force], which was done in a very professional manner. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, George Gedda of AP [Associated Press]. You have been to OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe], NATO, and now to the EU. Can you cite concrete examples of the ways in which the United States relations with Europe are on the mend? SECRETARY POWELL: I don't know that our relations with Europe were in as much disrepair as is claimed. And therefore, that there was this huge gap that had to be breached. Were there differences last year? There certainly were. But did we in the same year expand the NATO Alliance? Yes we did. Did we support Europe as it expanded? Yes. Did we work together on the Sudan? Yes. We worked together in so many areas. Did we expand our presence in Afghanistan so that the Afghan people could have a successful presidential election? Yes. So we have done a lot together. And Even though there were fissures or breaches in relationships, I think those breaches are now being closed again and I hope that my visit here this week and the meetings that I have participated in contributed to that. Certainly much more will happen when President Bush comes to show his commitment to the transatlantic relationship on February 22nd. We have done a lot this week. We came together yesterday at NATO. NATO and Russia made a good statement with respect to Ukraine, on the need for free, fair elections on the 26th. We came together during the course of the week at OSCE, except for Russia and Belarus, on a good statement on Ukraine and twenty-one other agreements that we had full consensus on so that I think is a success as well. We committed ourselves at NATO to provide additional trainers for the mission in Iraq, both to be advisors within the ministries, but also to set up an academy to train officers of the Iraqi armed forces. So I think it has been a successful week where we have demonstrated that the United States is fully committed to all of its transatlantic ties, whether it is through the OSCE, the EU, NATO and bilaterally with so many countries. And where there were significant problems and differences over the past year, yes we are doing everything we can to put those differences behind us and to look forward. QUESTION: Arshad Mohammed of Reuters. Mr. Secretary, earlier you told us that you and the Iranian Foreign Minister, at Sharm el Sheikh, had discussed Iranian youth and their need for jobs. Did you specifically convey to him your view that the young people Iran will continue to press for reform and that change will eventually come? And did those talks in any way touch on Iran's nuclear weapons programs or on the Iraq war? SECRETARY POWELL: No. It was a dinner conversation. We got talking about young people and, in the course of that conversation, we talked about the economy as well. He mentioned the growing cohort of young people and the need to generate jobs. It is, as I previously described it, it was a polite dinner conversation of that type, we did not get into any substance of out bilateral relationship or any bilateral differences we might have. QUESTION: Glen Kessler, with the Washington Post. Mr. Secretary, British officials are planning a February meeting between Israelis and Palestinians which appears to be part of a European effort to push the two sides to final status discussions. Does the U.S. support this British effort? And why, since the parameters for a final deal are well known, why shouldn't the international community at this point, once an elected Palestinian Authority is in place, begin pushing toward final status discussion? SECRETARY POWELL: Because the Roadmap is just that, it's a Roadmap that lays out the reciprocal obligations, responsibilities, commitments of the two parties. And it has always been the agreement on the part of the Quartet members [EU, Russia, United Nations, United States] and the Israelis and the Palestinians that the Roadmap has to be followed. You can't leap ahead and try to get to these final status issues or other phases of the Roadmap until you have created the bond of trust that's needed for these kinds of negotiations and which comes about early in the first stage of the Roadmap. Now the British meetings that are scheduled for February, I guess it is now, is an effort on the part of the UK, which we support and applaud, to bring the parties together to talk about issues. But I don't sense that it is supposed to be final status negotiations or whether they will even get to the final status issues. And so the Roadmap is the path that we follow. Javier and I have had conversations over the last several days about the important role that the Quartet will be ready to play as we move down the Roadmap. But we have had so many false starts with this peace process over the years that I think it is important for us to, one, wait until there is a good election on the 9th of January, we hope, that gives us a Palestinian president with the mandate of the Palestinian people. And then let that President create a government that is functioning, that is able to exercise control. And then we have a whole issue of disengagement from Gaza and the four settlements in the West Bank to get us into the Roadmap. And if things are quiet and if the commitments that the two parties have made right now toward getting a successful election under their belt and then moving forward, then we are on a path to, perhaps to the goal we all seek, which is a Palestinian state. But we can't rush it, and the Roadmap is the way, and the Roadmap is quite detailed with respect to the obligations and the responsibilities of the parties. QUESTION: The EU seems to be moving in the direction of lifting the arms embargo on China. I am wondering if that issue came up? And what Mr. Secretary did you relate to your EU colleagues about U.S. concerns SECRETARY POWELL: It did come up. We took note of the activities the EU has undertaken recently in their recent meetings with the Chinese. They are aware of our view that the embargo should remain in place. It was put in place as a result of human rights issues. I don't think they have been dealt with, and we think it would be in the best interest of all concerned for the embargo to remain in place. But I understand it is a difficult issue for the European Union to wrestle with, and I know they are working on it. |
