Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

Mr. Boucher Interview
by U.S. Department of State - Daily Press Briefing
Posted: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 07:39 am CST

DPB # 126
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2000 12:50 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

QUESTION: Mr. Denktash, in the north of Cyprus, or what he calls Northern Cyprus, is saying he'll put new restrictions -- he isn't spelling them out - - on UN peacekeepers. Now that their mission has been extended, does the State Department have a view of that threat? MR. BOUCHER: What we have always said is that we believe it is very important for the UN to be there. We joined in the unanimous UN Security Council resolution yesterday that renewed the peacekeeping force for six months. The renewal resolution urges the Turkish side to rescind the restrictions that it has imposed on peacekeepers since June. It calls for restoration of the status quo ante in Strovilia, along the Green Line, and clearly we would strongly oppose any additional measures to restrict the operations by the UN forces there.
We believe very strongly in the talks. We think the two leaders need to return to Geneva to resume their talks in late January with the UN Secretary General. We understood Mr. Denktash is trying to, or may intend to, set some conditions on his further participation in the UN talks, but we believe the interests of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots are best served by, in fact, continuing the talks. And so I want to reiterate we support the UN process and the Secretary General's attempts to achieve a significant and comprehensive settlement in Cyprus. QUESTION: Is there hope for that? This Administration, I think more than any other, put a special mark on Cyprus. In fact, I remember Mr. Berger saying a couple, three years ago, it's one of the high priority items. It doesn't seem to be moving -- the negotiations. Can you possibly see something happening before you turn in your hats? MR. BOUCHER: It is really very much a UN-scheduled effort. Obviously, the United States works a lot on this -- has since this beginning. When I was out there in 1993, all the way to date, the United States, this Administration,
has been very, very active. But we work in support of the UN effort, and the UN Secretary General has asked them to get back together in Geneva in late January. That is the next opportunity to move towards a settlement, and we certainly hope that all the parties will show up, and all the parties will work hard there to try to resolve this issue. QUESTION: Has there been any contact with Bush transition people concerning this building?
MR. BOUCHER: The way that this works, at least as far as we know here, is that we will be contacted by the sort of GSA-approved transition team at some point, and that at that point we would work with a transition team, the specific elements that are appointed to help with the transition of the State Department.
So we are very prepared for their arrival at any time. The Secretary has made clear to all of us that the Department is to provide the fullest possible support to the State Department transition team, but we have not yet been contacted by members of the team, nor do we know who will serve on it.
QUESTION: Has the Secretary called anyone to offer condolences or congratulations?
MR. BOUCHER: Not that I know of.
QUESTION: Not even Gore?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know when the last time was that she talked to Vice President Gore. I'll have to check on that. But I hadn't heard of any phone calls in the last day or two. I left the party sort of just after the news had come out, and I'm afraid I did not talk to the Secretary about whether she made any --
QUESTION: Is somebody designated the point man or point person to deal with the Bush people?
MR. BOUCHER: Our Executive Secretary is where the preparations are concentrated. Kristie Kenney, the Executive Secretary for the Department, is sort of in charge of the overall process and effort, but of course there are all of us available and ready to work with them as they come in. The Secretary has made quite clear she wants this to be smooth; she wants us to be forthcoming; she wants us to work very well in the interest of the United States and the broader interests of America. QUESTION: New subject. Is that all right? MR. BOUCHER: New subject?
QUESTION: One quick question on that. Do you know how many political appointees there are in this building?
MR. BOUCHER: No. I'll try to find out. I think that's the way I answered it last time when I said I'd try to find out. Did I find out? We can get it.
QUESTION: You're now losing more senior people -- Mr. Pickering? MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
QUESTION: Would you care to say anything about it? He took on a lot of quiet, heavy jobs in the last several years. MR. BOUCHER: First of all, he is joining the Boeing Company as a senior vice president for international relations. It becomes effective in January, following his retirement from State Department and approval by the Boeing board of directors. He is one of our most senior career diplomats. He has been an eminent ambassador in many places around the world. I don't think I have the list, but he has been confirmed by the Senate, I think a dozen times, if I'm correct, maybe more.
He has certainly taken on a lot of serious jobs for the Secretary, and you have seen him down here talking about subjects all around the world. And so he is one of our leaders, both for the career Foreign Service and for this Administration. He has been a very active and important element of our diplomacy, and I'm sure he'll be missed in that regard, but we all wish him well in his new job.
QUESTION: Considering his experience, will he play any role in the transition that you're aware of?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm sure he will make himself fully available to the transition people and will obviously have a role. Again, you know, until we know who the people are and who they want to talk to, all we can say is we're here, we're ready, we're willing to help and we want to help, we want to make this work best.
We are all quite aware of this whole process from when the Administration started, when we sort of had a number of issues that were passed on to us and with advice and good wishes. This Administration has taken care of a number of things, but every time an administration changes over there are issues and policies and programs that we pass on to our successors. And we all want to do that and make sure the babies get taken care of in the future.
QUESTION: And the babies passed on to you were passed on by basically like-minded people and passed on to you sort of as chapter two of the Clinton Administration and without the time constraints -- MR. BOUCHER: Well, I go back also to 1992-93. Secretary Christopher came. That was a very smooth transition. And I think that the commitment around here, and certainly the commitment from the Secretary, is to make this a smooth a transition that works in the interest of the people of the United States.
QUESTION: Do you have anything on Pope? MR. BOUCHER: Okay. What do you want to talk about? QUESTION: Tell us if you know anything beyond his release, welcome his release -- whatever you want.
MR. BOUCHER: We are, first of all, I think clearly relieved for Mr. Pope, for his family. We are happy to see that the ordeal is finally over. As you all know, President Clinton and Secretary Albright, Ambassador Collins, State Department officials in Washington, State Department officials at our Embassy in Moscow, together with people like Congressman John Peterson and obviously Mr. Pope's family, have been intensively engaged in this effort over the last nine months in order to protect his welfare, first and foremost, and, second of all, to press for his release. We are very relieved that he has been released. The President issued a statement that said he appreciated President Putin's decision to pardon Mr. Pope, but once again says we believe the ordeal was not justified and we are glad the humanitarian considerations have finally prevailed. He is making an initial -- Mr. Pope is in Frankfurt making an initial stop to get medical attention, and medical specialists will help him assess his condition before he returns home.
QUESTION: Yeah, a follow-up. There were some indications out of Moscow that President Putin wanted to wait until the transition of the US presidency to make his decision. Do you have any indication that this was based on what happened here yesterday?
MR. BOUCHER: No, no. I mean, quite to the contrary, last week when the Russians started talking about the 14th, talking about the possibility of pardon last week when the clemency board recommended a pardon, I think neither the Russians nor we knew exactly what day our election matters would be settled. So I would tend to think that that's not a very logical supposition based on the events.
QUESTION: Now that this is over, Richard, can you tell us whether there were any signals given in any of these many phone calls we've been told about over the past few weeks that this is the way it would probably work out, only they had to wait for -- I mean, did the Russians -- did Putin to the President -- did Ivanov to the Secretary -- did anyone kind of say that we had to wait for this legal matter to work its will? MR. BOUCHER: The question is: Can I tell you? The answer is: No. QUESTION: Were there any conversations with the President -- President Clinton or Secretary Albright with any Russian leaders after the release? And does the State Department plan to reissue its consular advisory on Russia to take out some of the precautions that American business professionals should take there?
MR. BOUCHER: Conversations since the release? I don't know. I'll have to check on that.
I think the Consular Information Sheets are intended to provide background for travelers, things that we believe American travelers need to know. After examining the situation with regard to Mr. Pope, we did put in information that described the perils of doing high-technology business in Russia. I think the experience would teach us all that maybe that information is valid and should stay, but obviously we will review these sheets on a regular basis. But for the moment it remains part of our advice to Americans, part of our information for Americans until we decide it needs to be changed, that that's not valid information. QUESTION: What can you tell us about the meeting with Arafat in Morocco?
MR. BOUCHER: It occurred on Tuesday. Dennis Ross met in Morocco with Chairman Arafat, with Palestinian negotiators. They discussed the current situation in the region. The focus was to talk about the current situation, talk about how to stabilize the situation, talk about how to create a bridge back to peacemaking.
We wanted to make clear that our commitment to the peace process, ending the violence and resuming the negotiations, have been constant throughout this situation. And we continue to urge both sides to do whatever they can to end the violence, restore calm, and find a way back to the negotiating table.
QUESTION: Would you say that Mr. Ross and others were encouraged by what they heard from Mr. Arafat? Or did they feel that they were hearing the same old message?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't think we want to try to characterize this that way after every single meeting. We haven't done that in the past; we wouldn't do it now.
QUESTION: This is a very important meeting. MR. BOUCHER: I think what this meeting shows is what the President and the Secretary have said: that we will continue to work on this. Ambassador Ross continues to work on this. We will continue to do whatever we can to stop the terrible violence in the Middle East, but also to bridge our way back to the peace process. And the fact of Ambassador Ross and his team going out there to meet with Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian officials shows that we are willing and do intend to continue working on this right through the end of the Administration.
QUESTION: Is there another trip planned, perhaps by Secretary Albright at some point in the near future?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point we don't have anything like that to announce. QUESTION: Well, it's just these Israeli reports that Albright is going, and apparently this building has said that those are just simply Israeli reports. Is there any basis in fact for these rumors? Is there any discussion of a trip in the near future for her? MR. BOUCHER: I think on the Middle East, there are so many rumors that we have never been in the business of saying whether any rumors had any basis. All I can tell you at this point is we don't have anything to announce regarding further travel plans.
QUESTION: Well, and then yesterday, Barak appealing to President Clinton to really jump in and do more, that it's time for a last-ditch effort. Has the President been in contact with the Secretary about ways to launch some kind of last-ditch effort, or is there anything going on? MR. BOUCHER: I don't know if the President has spoken with the Secretary. I do know that the Secretary, throughout her trip, has been in touch with Sandy Berger. Obviously, Ambassador Ross has talked to the Secretary, reported on his meetings, and that they continue to consider together what the next steps should be.
I think what this meeting demonstrates is what we have said along, what has been true along: the President and the Secretary are prepared to do whatever they can to help the parties restore calm and find a way back to peacemaking.
QUESTION: In the last four days, I believe, the Israelis have killed four Palestinian militants, leaders, in what is being dubbed, at least by the Palestinians, as assassinations. Do we regard these kinds of activities by the Israelis as helpful to the peace process, in the light of the fall?
MR. BOUCHER: There is too much violence. We have all been quite clear on that. We have not tried to characterize particular events. There is a factfinding committee, as you know, that goes out there and will look at -- is out there, has been there, and will help us understand the causes of the violence and how to prevent the recurrence of it. What is clear to us is that there is a cycle of violence that perpetuates itself, that deepens the tragedy for both Palestinians and Israelis. There are more than 300 people that have been killed in the violence. The vast majority of those people have been Palestinian. We are deeply saddened by these losses of life. The violence has destroyed lives, it has devastated families, ruined economic opportunities, and worsened the level of mistrust between the two communities.
But, in the end, these two communities have to live side by side, and it is best -- the only way is to achieve an end to the violence. We have made quite clear -- the Secretary has made quite clear -- that the cycle needs to be broken. She has laid out what she thinks the Israelis need to do, laid out what she thinks the Palestinian Authority needs to do, in quite specific terms for you, about two weeks ago, right here. Those steps need to be taken, must be taken, and we need to really get an end to the cycle.
QUESTION: Can we expect, then, that Dennis Ross will remain in his post until January 20th?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think he has indicated anything to the contrary. I haven't actually asked him that specific question, but I think when he talked about it originally he talked about leaving his job -- originally he talked about it in terms of after January 20th. QUESTION: Has there been any kind of preliminary report from Senator George Mitchell and his committee after his initial meetings with the parties? And what is going to be the regular -- is he going to give one massive report at the end when he is done with his investigation, or is he going to give small little update reports? MR. BOUCHER: Good questions. Would you like his phone number? As we have said before, it is an independent body. They will proceed in their work according to how they best decide to proceed, and how they decide to report. I think in Sharm el Sheikh and elsewhere, we have only talked about the final report that we would expect, but for more information on their travel and scope of work, you should contact his office at 202-371- 6012.
QUESTION: Could you repeat that phone number? MR. BOUCHER: 202-371-6012.
QUESTION: So are you saying that Senator Mitchell will not be contacting Secretary Albright during his stay there? MR. BOUCHER: No, I didn't say that. I said that they are independent. They will decide how they want to conduct their work. They will decide what sort of interim reporting they want to provide. They will decide how best to proceed. And it is really up to them to talk about it, to decide. I'm sure if Senator Mitchell decides to contact Secretary Albright as part of this process that she would love to talk to him. QUESTION: New subject. In the last few days, we have become aware of several embassy and consular closings. Can you bring us up to date on Qatar, the two consulates in Turkey, and any others, just to throw a blanket over the whole thing? How many others are closed up? MR. BOUCHER: Travel Warnings are out there. You have seen them out there, and we issue them. You can go through the files. On closures, let me deal with the situations in Turkey first, tell you what is going on there, and then Doha. I'm not aware of any others. Chuck, are you aware of any? No, I think those are the only two that we're aware of here. Both the Adana and Istanbul Consulates remain closed to the public. That means they are not open for public services. Obviously, our people continue to go to work and do their jobs. We are still evaluating the security information that we got in those circumstances, and they will reopen to the public as soon as the ongoing evaluation indicates it is acceptable to open again.
We think that there is sufficient justification to take these measures that protect Turkish and American employees and our property. You will remember we did a Worldwide Caution on October 12th that remains in effect, and that related to possible security problems and need to close posts in a number of areas. We work closely with the Turkish authorities. We do want to express our appreciation to the Turkish authorities for all the help they have given us on these security issues in the past and the help they are giving us now.
I want to make clear that at this time we don't think that there is an increased level of threat to private American citizens residing or visiting in Turkey. This threat, the information that we have, has to do with our employees and our property, our diplomatic employees, our official employees, our official properties.
So there is no information that there is an increased threat level for private US citizens that are residing or visiting Turkey, except to the extent that they may want to come into our Embassies, which is why we have closed ourselves to public activity. The October 18th Public Announcement for the Persian Gulf, Arabian Peninsula, and Turkey urging Americans to use caution and remain vigilant, however, does remain in effect. As far as the situation in Doha, the US Embassy in Doha closed to the public on Wednesday, December 6th to review its security posture. The Embassy reassessed its situation on Monday and has decided to extend the closure through December 13th. The Embassy is now closed today and tomorrow for its normal weekend schedule, Thursday, Friday in Qatar. The Embassy will reassess the situation over their weekend and make a decision regarding opening or closure for the coming week. So at this point nothing definitive out of there.
QUESTION: One more. Nawaz Sharif is now a free man in Saudi Arabia with his family, and the UK has announced that doors for him and his family are open. Are the doors here in the US open for him, and also if this Department played a role for his freedom? MR. BOUCHER: I'll be glad to get you something on the latter question. But let me just check on those things for you. I don't have anything with me today. Have we had anything on that, Chuck, on doors being opened? I don't think we've had anything on the doors. We may have a little bit to tell you about what we knew about the other proceedings.

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