U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #35, 98-03-17

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

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing

I N D E X

Tuesday, March 17, 1998

Briefer: James P. Rubin

MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
1-2		UK Foreign Secretary's Cook's Travel to Region/Role of EU
		  in Peace Process
2		Security Situation in Region
3		Status of Middle East Peace Process
3		Palestinian Security Chief's Threats to Israeli Settlers
RUSSIA
3-4		State of President Yeltsin's Health
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
4,7-8		Assessment of 10-day deadline by Contact Group / Decisions
		  / Implementation
5,7		Possibility of Formation of New Peacekeeping Force for the
		  Balkans
7		Situation Report re Kosovo
7		Status of Discussions Between Belgrade and Kosovo
TURKEY
5		General Ralston's Upcoming Visit to Turkey
ARMENIA/AZERBAIJAN
5		Armenian Election Results/Allegations of Fraud
5-6		Allegations of Cease-Fire Violations
GREECE
6		Secretary Albright's Meeting This Week With Greek Foreign
		  Minister
CYPRUS
6		Prospects for Accession to European Union
INDONESIA
8-9		US-Indonesia Joint Combined Exercises and Training Reaction
		  to Cabinet
COLOMBIA
9-10		Threats Against US Personnel in Colombia
PANAMA
10-11		Status of US-Panamanian Talks re Multilateral
		  Counter-Narcotics Center

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

DPB #35

TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 1998, 12:45 P.M.

(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

MR. RUBIN: Welcome to the State Department briefing on this Tuesday. I have no statements; I have no announcements.

George Gedda.

QUESTION: Do you have any evaluation of Foreign Minister Cook's visit? Some Israelis think he's not being even-handed enough.

MR. RUBIN: Foreign Secretary Cook has a very close working relationship with Secretary Albright, as you know, and she has great confidence in him personally and in the intentions that he is pursuing at the request of the European Union to visit Israel and to try to promote peace in the region.

Let me say that we have long welcomed Europe's interest in the Middle East, particularly their strong economic support for the Palestinians. As you know, we were not consulted on the specific itinerary of the trip that he took. What we want to see is all the parties focus on the substance of the negotiations; and what we want to see from the leaders are the tough decisions that we've long called for.

So she has great confidence in him personally, and hopes that when the trip is completed, that he will have contributed to the recognition on the part of the leaders there that it's time to move on the Middle East peace process. That's what we've been saying, and we hope that is the result of the trip.

QUESTION: More specifically, is it useful for the British Foreign Secretary to go to a disputed piece of land in Jerusalem?

MR. RUBIN: Let me say this - that we were not involved in the decision to go there. This is an issue between the British, the Israelis and the Palestinians as far as his itinerary is concerned.

Again, let me say the Secretary has the utmost respect and admiration for him. As far as we're concerned, we are focused at the moment on practical ways of putting the peace process back on track, and that is what we think is necessary. We hope that when the fall-out is complete, that the leaders in the region see the need to move forward on making the hard decisions. We certainly have been supportive of the European Union's economic underpinning that has provided for the Middle East peace process, and that is important to ensuring that the people of the region see that peace brings benefits. If we don't get movement on the hard issues that the Secretary has been talking to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat about - the ideas the President has put forward - the peace process will not go from its current status, which is a very deteriorated one, to the kind of forward movement that we in the United States have been looking for.

QUESTION: Has the Secretary spoken to Cook in the last 24 hours?

MR. RUBIN: I don't believe so, no.

QUESTION: And when you talk about when the fall-out is complete, what exactly do you mean by fall-out?

MR. RUBIN: Well, I've been watching the TV and been reading the reports on the wires, and clearly there has been some controversy here.

QUESTION: It sounds like you're distancing yourself from this visit by saying, well we weren't involved with the making up of the itinerary and we think we should be involved in substance. It sounds like you are criticizing the forum of the Foreign Secretary in going to that place in Jerusalem.

MR. RUBIN: The words that I have used have to speak for themselves. What I indicated was that she has made clear to Foreign Minister Cook that she is supportive of his efforts to try to bring home to the leaders in the region the importance of moving forward in the peace process.

She is also quite supportive of the role the European Union has played in providing an economic underpinning directly by assistance to the Palestinians. We think that is important and as far as the details of another foreign minister's trip is concerned, I wouldn't expect that other foreign ministers would necessarily comment on every site that we visit or every place that we go. For example, I don't recall a lot of comments by Foreign Minister Cook about our trip to Ohio State University.

(Laughter.)

So we are not going to engage in what's obviously a visit that became controversial; that is simply a statement of fact. We are supportive of his efforts and we hope that when all is said and done, that the leaders of the region take out of his visit and their meetings with him what the message that we presume he is bringing, which is that it is time for the leaders to move.

QUESTION: You said yesterday that the security situation was already tense in the first place. So is it a good idea, just to press this more, for Mr. Cook to go over there when it seems as though his visit is stoking the tensions rather than alleviating them?

MR. RUBIN: I don't see the security situation as having been markedly worse as a result of him being there. What the security situation normally refers to is in the Palestinian territories; the kind of stone-throwing and demonstrations that lead to the tragic incident last week and I don't think that that has been stoked, in your words, by his presence at this particular site.

QUESTION: Take it a further step, the peace process, in general -- tensions, things aren't going well; you said that yesterday. Is he at all stoking things in a negative direction?

MR. RUBIN: I think I have spoken very directly and clearly about what we have to say about his visit.

QUESTION: Do you have any comment on the comments from the head of the Palestinian Preventative Security Service, threatening Jewish settlers with death?

MR. RUBIN: We believe that the peace process can only succeed if it is about building confidence between the sides, not carrying out actions or issuing statements that provoke the other side. In this regard, the last thing we needed was for this kind of controversial and provocative statement to be made by the Palestinian security chief. However, I also have to say that in addition to statements, we need people to refrain from provocative actions and that includes both sides, including the Israeli settlers who have made provocative steps, as well, in terms of actions. But clearly, the last thing we needed was this kind of threatening statement from the Palestinian security chief. We're looking to tone down the rhetoric; to get on with the security cooperation; to create an environment in which the hard decisions can be made. And none of this improves that prospect.

QUESTION: New subject? Russia? I'm not so much interested in what you know or don't know about Boris Yeltsin's health, but is it fair to say that American officials are less worried about the state of Yeltsin's health these days than a couple of years ago? To phrase the question a little differently, is it your assessment that Russian reforms are well enough entrenched that they don't rely on one man?

MR. RUBIN: We have very great respect for President Yeltsin; and it's been his decisions that have led Russia on a path towards reform and a path towards a more cooperative relationship with the United States. At the same time, we have developed working relationships between Vice President Gore and Prime Minister Chernomyrdin; between Foreign Minister Primakov and Secretary Albright; between Deputy Secretary Talbott and other key officials in the Russian Government. That is designed to ensure that we can continue to do the work we need to do. That work is moving forward.

We've been cooperating with Foreign Minister Primakov quite successfully on the Kosovo crisis; and as I understand it, a resolution has now been agreed to in principle in New York on a comprehensive arms embargo. So the relationship doesn't depend on one man, but it is certainly a fact that President Yeltsin has led his country towards greater reform, greater cooperation and greater international standing; and we hope that that continues. We wish him a speedy recovery from the illness that has been described by the Russian spokesman, and will continue to work with the Russian Government. We believe that the ties between American and Russian officials are deep and widespread.

QUESTION: Jamie, I'll ask you a question about his health, then. Have we had any assurances from anyone within the government that he - that this is not as severe as it sounds?

MR. RUBIN: I'm not aware of phone calls that have come our way, reassuring us about the state of President Yeltsin's health. I can point you to the fact that a Yeltsin spokesperson has said that he's suffering from an upper respiratory ailment. At his doctor's recommendation, he has canceled his meetings for this week while he recuperates at a dacha outside of Moscow. We do wish President Yeltsin a speedy recovery.

We understand that the CIS - that's the Commonwealth of Independent States - summit, scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed until late April. But it's also true that President Yeltsin kept some appointments last week. Over the weekend, he met with constitutional court envoy Shakhray and hosted a private dinner for the famed cellist Rostropovich. And President Yeltsin was seen on Russian television last week meeting with key economic advisors.

We have no information to indicate the Kremlin has made decisions to cancel the expected meeting next week with President Kohl and President Chirac. The foreign ministry has indicated that preparatory work on the summit continues. So we're hoping for a speedy recovery, and continuing to do the business of the United States in dealing with the Russian Government.

QUESTION: On the Kosovo - on the arms embargo resolution, do you know when that's going to be acted on? Will that be acted on this week?

MR. RUBIN: Our understanding is that the Contact Group in New York has agreed to a consensus text of a UN Security Council resolution. So that's the Contact Group has made an agreement in principle; that isn't all the members of the Security Council. I may have slightly overstated the case earlier. That resolution will implement the conclusions of the Contact Group meeting, including the imposition of a comprehensive arms embargo on the FRY. That text has now been circulated, and we are hopeful the resolution will be passed later this week.

QUESTION: Just to go back to the pending Russian arms deal - the $1.5 billion arms deal - is it your understanding - the Administration's understanding, through these consultations in New York the last day or so, that that will be part - that deal will not go forward?

MR. RUBIN: I don't believe that anyone from this podium has ever confirmed a particular number with a particular arms deal. So let me just say this - it is our understanding that discussions had taken place about the possible military cooperation between the two countries, and certainly a comprehensive arms embargo would prohibit the transfer of arms if that was what was contemplated.

QUESTION: So as far as you understand, there's not a contract?

MR. RUBIN: I couldn't get into that level of detail.

QUESTION: Representatives of United States, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Slovenia got together in Ankara. They had a meeting at Turkish general staff for the formation of a new peace force for Balkans. Do you have any comments on that?

MR. RUBIN: I'm not familiar with that particular meeting, but I can say that we are supportive of an effort by the countries in the region to get together and talk about this problem and make sure that if the violence in Kosovo does become exacerbated, that the countries in the region are in sufficient contact with each other that there is no miscalculation.

We have spoken many times about the risk of violence in Kosovo spilling over and becoming a possible spark for a wider war. One of the ways to ensure that that doesn't happen is to make sure that all the relevant countries in the region are in touch with each other, have regular contact so that they don't miscalculate and misunderstand each other's intentions so that such violence in Kosovo does spin out of control. We're supportive of countries in the region having those kinds of discussions.

QUESTION: General Ralston's upcoming visit, trip to Turkey related to such a formation of such a peace force?

MR. RUBIN: I'm not familiar with that, and you would have to address that question to the Pentagon.

QUESTION: Do you have any comment on Armenian elections, which took place yesterday?

MR. RUBIN: The Embassy and the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe are looking into the allegations of a number of leading Armenian presidential candidates who have charged that the election has been marred by fraud, intimidation and violence of law, and declaring that the election cannot be considered free and fair.

We are also urging the Armenian Government to investigate these allegations immediately and thoroughly and take appropriate action. The international monitors are meeting today in Yerevan to report on their observations of the election process. At the same time, the vote-counting is continuing.

As I understand it, the international monitors will issue a statement once the vote count is complete and when it has finished its evaluation of the election. So it would be premature for us to comment further until those on the ground have had a chance to report on what they think is going on.

QUESTION: Follow up - Azerbaijan's defense ministry has stated that the Armenian side violated the cease-fire agreement a couple of times for - last week. Are you concerned about this situation?

MR. RUBIN: We certainly don't want the war to resume in full force, and so we're always concerned about any possibility that that would happen. I don't have any information specifically on this specific charge of a specific cease-fire violation.

QUESTION: To go back to the whole Kosovo situation --

MR. RUBIN: Let's go in the back, and then we'll come right back here.

QUESTION: Anything on the agenda for the upcoming meeting between Greek Foreign Minister Theodore Pangalos and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at the State Department this coming Friday? Is it taking place at the request of your side or the Greek side? And what is the purpose?

MR. RUBIN: Well, I don't know whose request, but certainly foreign ministers meet with each other; that's one of the things they do. So therefore, I would expect there to be such a meeting. As far as what the agenda would be, I'm sure it would cover all the aspects of concern to the United States, including Kosovo, including the Greek-Turkish relations, including the prospect of Cyprus' accession to the European Union . These are the issues that are normally on our agenda, and I suspect they would be on the agenda of such a meeting.

QUESTION: So the Pangalos-Albright meeting is here. A couple of questions regarding diplomatic exchanges between the Greek Ambassador and the DOS. I'm wondering if you are in a position to answer on diplomatic exchanges before I proceed.

MR. RUBIN: No, no.

QUESTION: And one more question, as far as for Cyprus, the Cyprus Government has decided to proceed on the talks for the admission to the European Union. Any comment to this effect?

MR. RUBIN: I'm sorry, could you repeat that question, please?

QUESTION: The question is, the Cyprus Government has decided to proceed on the talks for admission into the European Union. Any comment?

MR. RUBIN: Well, at the risk of commenting, let me say that we have long said that we see EU accession as a potentially positive factor in resolving the conflict there. The possibility that this could be achieved would contribute to a climate in which these issues might be resolved. In the meantime, obviously, the delegation issue has not been resolved, and we want the two of them to resolve it.

QUESTION: A couple questions back on Kosovo. Somebody raised an interesting point, and that is, does the United States --

MR. RUBIN: Was that okay?

(Laughter.)

That's the able deputy who specializes particularly in Greek-Turkish matters.

QUESTION: Does the United States, or is it talking with the countries of the Balkan region about forming some sort of a regional military force that could be useful in a wider conflict, or to make sure that Kosovo doesn't spill over? I mean, is that --

MR. RUBIN: I'm not familiar with any effort being made to create a regional army of any kind. I'm familiar with the fact that NATO Secretary General Solana has been in Albania; that the Contact Group countries talked about the need to extend an international presence in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; and that we want to take all steps that we can to not only make sure there are no miscalculations between these countries, but also that there are the kinds of military capabilities that are stabilizing in the region, that deter any possible cross-border conflicts. That's why we've worked with the Albanians; we've worked with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; and why we will continue to focus on this regional question.

But I'm just not familiar with a specific proposal for a regional army.

QUESTION: And your assessment today on how things are going, vis-a-vis Belgrade and Kosovo --

MR. RUBIN: My understanding is that the region is relatively - sorry I --

QUESTION: No, yes, no, go ahead.

MR. RUBIN: That the region is quiet; that there are still police in the region; that there are some humanitarian organizations who have returned and are beginning to operate, including Medecines Sans Frontieres, that we are hopeful that the International Committee on the Red Cross will return.

As far as the negotiating track is concerned, we have no reason to be more optimistic today than we were yesterday, except for the fact that Foreign Minister Primakov is going to visit with President Milosevic today; and as I understand it, Foreign Minister Vedrine and Foreign Minister Kinkel will be going on Thursday.

So hopefully after meeting these three foreign ministers, President Milosevic will get with the program, reverse course and begin to put forward serious efforts to negotiate a solution to this nettlesome problem; and that a solution cannot be one in which he puts out propaganda statements blaming the Kosovars for what was an unjustified and brutal crackdown by the police forces in Kosovo. It should be an unconditional offer, and it should be a well-prepared offer. Those are the two standards we'll use to judge the seriousness of his efforts.

QUESTION: And a logistical question - you keep talking about this ten-day sort of time limit that the Contact Group gave Milosevic, but obviously the ten days is up before the Contact Group meets. So what happens on the tenth day? Nothing.

(Laughter.)

MR. RUBIN: Do you want to switch places? You all often ask us what the result of particular decisions by governments are. Unlike the news organizations that you work for, governments don't move at lightening speed, and they don't implement decisions at lightening speed. There's a process.

The foreign ministers of several governments decided to impose very serious sanctions on Slobodan Milosevic's Serbia. Implementing those sanctions is a time-consuming and careful process - that relates to the visas, that relates to getting a resolution passed on the arms embargo, that relates to making sure that none of the countries have outstanding government-financed privatization efforts, and that makes sure that in the case of the next set of sanctions - the freeze on assets - that we are in a position to implement what for you is a sentence in your story, but for governments actually requires an enormous amount of work by lawyers and government officials to find out what assets are out there, find out what banks are available, find out what the legal requirements are.

So what I can tell you is that if there hasn't been a change in the next three days, the Contact Group's decision to impose an asset freeze will begin to be implemented. Now, what does that mean? That means people will begin to figure out how to do it. And since the Contact Group five - not the Russians - the five of the six have decided on that asset freeze, they will surely talk about it again at the meeting. So in practical reality, it probably won't be fully implemented in terms of shutting down a particular bank account or making all banks know what will happen if they get Serbian assets probably until after the Contact Group meeting. But the intensity of the implementation will increase if, by day ten, it's obvious to all of us that nothing has changed.

QUESTION: Jamie, did you see the story about US military training for Indonesians?

MR. RUBIN: I did.

QUESTION: Do you have anything on that?

MR. RUBIN: The answer is yes, when I can find it. It certainly isn't under the category boldly marked, "Indonesia."

(Laughter.)

But it's arriving here. As I understand it, the United States Pacific Command continues to conduct joint combined exercises and training with the Indonesian armed forces. This joint training is conducted in Indonesia and is not under the auspices of the International Military Education and Training, better known to all of you as IMET.

This training is legal, and in our view, in conformance with the expressed intent of Congress; that is because Congress specifically banned IMET training, and this is not IMET training. These joint exercises enhance American military readiness and increase US engagement with an important country. All training is conducted in accordance with US doctrine, which incorporates leadership and morale principles, including the law of land warfare and Geneva conventions.

The Administration has in no way attempted to mislead the Congress, and Administration officials have discussed military exercises and training in Indonesia with relevant committees on a number of occasions in recent years. It is our understanding that these exercises are of a purely military nature and are unrelated to crowd control. But the Department of Defense will be in a position to give you more information on that.

QUESTION: Further on Indonesia, what do you -- what's your evaluation of the new cabinet that's about to be sworn in?

MR. RUBIN: Well that is an internal matter for the Indonesian Government. What we are concerned about is that they do what they can reasonably do to implement as quickly as they reasonably can the IMF reform program so they can get back on their economic feet. That is what we are focused on. There are officials out there right now, I believe, who are meeting with Indonesian counterparts, and what we are focused on is less the people than the policies that we think are necessary for them to be able to meet the needs of the IMF program that has been set forward.

QUESTION: Do you think that it is possible to get an acceptable solution - - acceptable to the IMF and to the United States and to other Western governments -- solution in Indonesia with Soeharto as the leader?

MR. RUBIN: If he were to move forward and implement the reform packages, yes.

QUESTION: What happens if he doesn't?

MR. RUBIN: If my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a bicycle. I don't know how to -- if he doesn't, we'll cross that bridge.

QUESTION: On Colombia, sir, if I may. There is an interview by Reuters today with one of the sub-military commanders of the FARC -- the leftist --

MR. RUBIN: Sorry, I'm still laughing at my own joke.

(Laughter.)

And I was the only one.

QUESTION: There is today an interview by Reuters with one of the top military commanders of FARC, the leftist guerrillas in Colombia, where he basically says three things. One is that he says that there are many more US advisors in Colombia than the US admits. Second, he says that the main targets are not the narco-traffickers, but the guerrillas themselves. And he threatens directly the lives of the US advisors. What is your reaction to that?

MR. RUBIN: Yes. First of all, that sounds like one of the least credible sources imaginable for such a claim. We are aware of this commander's threat against US personnel in Colombia. We have discussed it with our embassy in Bogota. The embassy will continue to review the security situation of all US citizens in Colombia, and is taking appropriate measures in response to that threat.

We do not have military advisors assigned to Colombian military units and I suspect that everyone knows that. US assistance is strictly for counter- narcotics. The problem is that some of the guerrillas are narcotics traffickers; and so long as they are narcotics traffickers, they are going to be subject to our assistance to the Colombian military in the crackdown on the people who are earning huge profits at the expense of the people of Colombia, the people of the region and the people of the United States.

US personnel in Colombia man radar stations and provide training and assistance to the Colombian National Police in their counter-narcotics programs, which include aerial eradication and interdiction. Let me point out that we have declared this particular organization a foreign terrorist organization for their history of attacks on US citizens and interests in Colombia. We are concerned about their significant support for narco- trafficking in Colombia.

So if this organization would get out of the terrorism and get out of the narcotics business, then they wouldn't be so worried about how many Americans there are in Colombia.

QUESTION: On Panama, how long ago did the State Department announce that in a few days they would be announcing an agreement with the Panamanian Government regarding the anti-narcotics center - multilateral --

MR. RUBIN: The MCC?

QUESTION: Yes. That time frame has expired, and I suppose it is because the negotiations are in good shape. Can you tell us why is this delay in announcement? The governments of Latin America, they are talking about to build up a new hemispheric agreement in the coming Summit of the Americas. Is this any relation to that?

MR. RUBIN: I don't have any specific information on what's holding up the negotiations, but clearly they've been held up. We can try to get you a list of the main topics. We normally don't go into great detail publicly about problems that we're having in private negotiations, at the risk of making the problems even worse. But in terms of the general categories, perhaps we can get some information for you after the briefing.

QUESTION: Thank you.

(The briefing concluded at 1:20 P.M.)

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