White House Daily Briefing, September 26, 2000
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
September 26, 2000
PRESS BRIEFING BY JOE LOCKHART
The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
2:24 P.M. EDT
MR. LOCKHART: Good afternoon, everyone. Questions?
Q: Joe, do you have a reaction to the Yugoslav election commission
calling for a run-off?
MR. LOCKHART: Well, I think what we've seen now are some preliminary
reports from the commission. I think our view is it's interesting that
the government now, itself, recognizes that the opposition has
substantially out-polled the government, despite all of the
intimidation and irregularities in the election, I think now -- that
are now well-known. I think the failure to award a first-round victory
for the opposition is highly suspect, given the other credible reports
that came out about the polling.
I think now we need to wait until these numbers are final and take a
cue from the opposition to see what their intentions and plans are.
Q: You're not surprised, are you?
MR. LOCKHART: I don't know, given what we know about how the election
was taking place, that there's too much the government can do to
surprise us.
Q: Joe, the hope, I guess, of the President's remarks here is to
entice the people of Serbia with lifting of sanctions, to try to get
them to rally behind the opposition. Does the U.S. think that would
really work and really would put more pressure on Milosevic --
MR. LOCKHART: Well, I think -- I'm not sure I accept the premise, but
there is certainly, whether you use the government's suspect figures
or the more credible figures that have come from the opposition, there
absolutely appears to be a sense of a people who want to rejoin the
community of Europe, and I think some understanding that won't happen,
given the current government.
Q: Joe, the President was somewhat muted in his language than some
close U.S. allies -- Tony Blair, for example, said it's time for
Milosevic to go. Was the President's language more moderated partly
because he feared that if he comes out too hard, it may make Milosevic
more reluctant to let go of power?
MR. LOCKHART: No, I don't think so. I think we are waiting for the
results now, but it's very clear by our policy what we think of that
government. I believe our policy speaks in a way that's much more
effective and certainly as loudly as our rhetoric.
END 2:45 P.M. EDT
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