[EXCERPTS] U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
BRIEFER: NICHOLAS BURNS THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1997
Q: Nick, some of us broke bagels this morning with a Mideast diplomat who can't be identified further, and I wouldn't have brought this up except your reference to Iraq. This was a rather quiet presentation he made off the record, but he did speak of Saddam Hussein being stronger than ever, and he also thought that some place along the line Iraq had to be included in any comprehensive settlement in the Middle East. He didn't give us an approach how to accomplish this goal, and I wondered, could you go down the first point. What do you think of Saddam Hussein's staying power? Isn't he pretty well entrenched, though, despite all your efforts? BURNS: He seems to be entrenched, but he's someone who is embattled, certainly, inside his own country, and he's certainly embattled internationally. The United Nations sanctions applied to Iraq in March of 1991 will remain. They'll remain, because he has been in fundamental violation of the sanctions and of U.N. resolutions for many years. I see that Mr. Hamdoon made an intemperate statement up at the United Nations today, accusing Secretary Albright -- basically trying to rebut some of the points that Secretary Albright made in her Georgetown speech. I think Ambassador Hamdoon ought to look to the letter of the United Nations agreement, resolutions and the sanctions resolution. Iraq is in violation, because Iraq never answered for what happened to the 600-700 Kuwaitis whom it took prisoner in the beginning stages of the Gulf War. Those people disappeared. Iraq has never answered for that. Iraq is a state that is being contained by the international community because of its perfidy and because of its aggression against its own people as well as its neighbors, and that policy will not change, and they don't have a hope, as Secretary Albright said, of having the United States agree to lifting of sanctions until they comply with all of the U.N. resolutions. I don't think we're going to see that day as long as Saddam Hussein is in power. The second point is most interesting to me. There's been dramatic, historic progress in the Middle East peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis since 1993 without the support of the Government of Iraq. I think that we can certainly continue once we resolve these very, very important and difficult problems on the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Once we do move forward in the future, we can resolve those problems without the help of the Government of Iraq. Q: Nick, are you saying that you think a comprehensive peace can be reached in the Middle East without Iraq, and without Iran, for that matter? BURNS: We are concerned about a peace between Israel and the Palestinians. We want those negotiations to resume at some point in the future, and we're working to that, as you know. We want the Israeli-Jordanian peace to be solidified, and at some point in the future -- and perhaps it's not going to be soon -- but at some point in the future we do look to the day when Syria and Israel and Lebanon and Israel will be at peace. That will be a comprehensive peace. The outlaw pariah states, Iran and Iraq, will have to then live in bitter isolation, as they deserve to live, unless they change their own policies or unless they change their own leaders. .............. Q: A question on KEDO. A KEDO delegation is going to North Korea in the coming weeks, or what's the situation with KEDO? BURNS: I will have to take that question and see. I'm just simply not aware of all the delegations that KEDO is sending to North Korea, but we fully support KEDO, and I'll be glad to take the question for you.
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