State Department Noon Briefing, October 2, 2000
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2000 -- 1:05 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
Q: You have said that the United States is prepared to follow the lead
of the opposition on what course of action is best. Mr. Kostunica now
is saying that the United States should go easy on the war crimes
issue because this is, in fact, helping Milosevic. What do you have to
say to his criticism on this?
REEKER: Again, I would refer you to the traveling party and the
Secretary's comments, which have addressed this at great length in
Europe. Today she has a number of things to say about that. Our
position on the war crimes issue has not changed from what we
expressed again on Friday. It has not changed from the position that
we have had all along.
Q: Would you say he's misguided on this point?
REEKER: I'm not going to take your words; I'm going to use my words
and say that our position on the war crimes indictments stays exactly
where it has been all along.
Q: On a related point, are you satisfied with the level of Russian
pressure on Milosevic, or do you think they could do more if they
want?
REEKER: Well, again, let me refer you to what the Secretary said.
Milosevic tried to steal the election. We have seen very clearly that
the people of Serbia, the people of Yugoslavia, have spoken, and they
have decided, and that people -- everyone, all of us -- should
recognize that. Slobodan Milosevic should recognize that, that the
people have spoken and made their decision, and that is that Milosevic
should go. He is through. His time is up.
The Secretary indicated the discussions that she has had with her
European colleagues, that all of us are ready to welcome a democratic
Serbia back into the community of nations, back into Europe. We
continue to believe that the opposition has won an outright victory on
the 24th of September.
In terms of your question about the Russians, President Clinton called
President Putin on Saturday to discuss the elections, and President
Putin said he agreed that the will of the Serbian people should be
respected. And I think the Secretary has had numerous conversations
with her counterpart, Foreign Minister Ivanov. Clearly, they won in
the first round.
Q: On Kostunica's comments this morning, he said that -- he not only
said that the US is too focused on -- not only is not helpful, but the
US is kind of trading off getting Milosevic into The Hague -- focusing
too much on that and not enough on the immediate stability of Serbia.
And then also he also said something about the Russians, that the
Russians are -- yes, they're involved but they're not being entirely
productive, that they're not coming out strongly enough, using their
influence against Milosevic. And do you think that the Russians should
come out a little stronger, recognizing the first round -- Kostunica
winning the first round, as the US did?
REEKER: Again, I think it's a matter of the Serbian people deciding,
and the Serbian people have decided. They have spoken. They have made
their view -- their will -- quite clear. And people should recognize
that. As I said, Milosevic should recognize that. It's time for him to
go, and they've spoken quite plainly.
Q: Phil, the Russians have not recognized that. Basically, they've
said the electoral commission has spoken and said that Kostunica did
not win the first round outright. So, I mean, are you prepared to call
on the Russians to reconsider this --
REEKER: I think we have been having very useful talks with the
Russians. I think the Russians, as I indicated, agree that the will of
the Serbian people should be respected. The Secretary has addressed
that. Again, I would refer you to her remarks on that subject. The
facts are very clear. Clearly, the opposition and Mr. Kostunica won in
the first round. The polling results are readily available, and it's
quite clear what was decided then.
Q: Then why aren't the Russians coming out and acknowledging that?
REEKER: Well, then I think you'd have to ask the Russian Government
for their exact position. I'm not up here to speak on their behalf.
Q: But that must be a source of contention among the US and Russia in
the relationship right now that
REEKER: I don't think -- you know, you guys love to have contention.
There is nothing more exciting to you. But I don't see --
Q: No, I -- (inaudible.)
(Laughter.)
REEKER: I think I have outlined the conversations we've had, the
regular dialogue that we've been having with the Russians, with
European allies, on this. And all I can point you to is what President
Putin said in his conversation with President Clinton over the weekend
that he agreed that the will of the Serbian people needs to be
respected.
Q: I mean, at the end of the Kosovo War the Russians were very
instrumental in getting the thing ended, and even up to it relied on
the Russians to sort of be an influencing factor on Milosevic. Why do
you seem to be not pressing that option now or encouraging the
Russians to do more as the Serbs' ally, or not come out and ask them
to do it?
REEKER: I think -- again, let me refer you to all of the things that
Secretary Albright said on that subject and the conversations she has
had and what was discussed amongst the Europeans in the meetings that
have taken place in Paris on that. As I said last week, Russia has
traditionally been a strong supporter of the Serbian people, and the
Serbian people have spoken. And we all need to recognize that they
have made their decision, and they have said what they want to happen.
They have expressed their will. And President Putin has said he agreed
that the will of the Serbian people should be respected, and they have
called for Milosevic to go. His time is up, and it's time for him to
move.
Q: Post-Paris press conference, Milosevic went on television for the
first time since the Kosovo War, going to war, and basically said that
the opposition was a stooge of -- that Kostunica was a stooge of Zoran
Djindjic, who himself was a stooge of the US and NATO, talking about
how the West is not against Milosevic -- the West is not against
Serbia -- the West is only against Serbia because of Milosevic --
REEKER: Are you having a hard time parsing Milosevic there, Matt?
Q: Yeah, exactly. Look, you can't refer me to the party because it
hasn't been addressed by the party. So I'm wondering if you have any
comment on Milosevic's speech.
REEKER: Look, I have never made it a practice to have a lot of comment
on the speeches of someone like Milosevic on his state-controlled
television -- the aspects of a sort of desperate man who realizes that
the people have spoken. You know, it's time for him to go. The people
of Serbia, whom he has pretended to represent and speak for over more
than a decade, have seen their country brought to economic ruin and
international pariah status, have spoken. And they have said it's time
for him to go. They want to see change. They want to be a normal
European country. And that's what we welcome. We look forward to
welcoming them back into the international community and having them
participate and be able to rebuild from the ruin that he has brought
upon them.
Q: So no amount of his public oratory is going to change --
REEKER: I think the people have spoken, and that is what is important.
This is a matter for the people of Yugoslavia.
Q: You think he's wasting his time, basically, going in front of the
-- going on national television talking to the people and telling them
that he is, in fact, the best thing for them?
REEKER: Again, it's great to have you state those things for me. I
think I've said enough. The people of Yugoslavia have spoken, and that
is what matters in this situation. They have decided that it is time
for a change, and they have said that Milosevic must go.
Q: So it doesn't seem like Slobodan Milosevic is about to recognize
the will of the people. Is the US about to recognize the will of the
people, and recognize a Kostunica government, let's say in exile, or
recognize that as the legitimately elected government?
REEKER: That is just beyond the sort of hypothetical, so I am not even
going to get into that.
Q: No, it's not. I mean, it doesn't -
REEKER: Our position has been very clear from the beginning, that we
have seen the people speak, we have seen the evidence, we have seen
the ballots, the polling results that have been made publicly
available. We have seen nothing to indicate that there is any factual
basis for a second round, and clearly the opposition won in the first
round. They had a victory there; it is a victory for the people of
Yugoslavia, and that is what important. They have spoken, and they
want to see their country return to Europe, return to the
international community, and that is what they are focusing on.
Q: Now, let's see, the assessment -- of the latest assessment of the
analysts in this building of the chances of Milosevic giving up power
before Sunday, which is obviously a critical --
REEKER: I don't have any particular assessments or --
Q: Is it still a real possibility, or is it --
REEKER: We watch events there closely. We don't have people, as you
know, there. We obviously look at the media reports. And, to us, it is
very clear that the will of the people was expressed. It was expressed
in results that are clearly transparent and available, and that --
Q: Yes, I know what happened, but I am talking about what is the real
-- what is the assessment of the real --
REEKER: Again, I am going to leave the analysis for you to do, because
you are going to do your analyses anyway. We will watch the facts and
the results. I don't have anything else to share with you at this
point.
Q: Senior State Department officials have told us in the past that one
of the scenarios that they would see is defections from Milosevic's
circle and party. We started to see that over the weekend. Are you
optimistic that these are positive signs that Milosevic will in fact
step down and let the will of the people speak?
REEKER: Look, I think we have talked about that last week, that there
were a number of indications that some of the cronies of Milosevic and
his party and his regime had been trying to reach out to the
opposition. They have clearly seen the facts, as we have seen the
facts, that the opposition had a clear victory on September 24th. And
so I think more and more people will begin to see that that is what
has been expressed by the people of Serbia and Yugoslavia, that this
is their desire to see their country get back on the right path, and
that it is time for Milosevic to go.
Anything else on this? Then let's change subjects.
Q: I just want to follow up on what you said, that some of these
cronies are reaching out to Kostunica. Originally there was like a
list of people on a travel ban for the --
REEKER: I don't have details on that. I am basing it on press reports
and statements by the opposition that they had received calls from
people in the regime discussing trying to make some change.
Q: So this is just based on press reports?
REEKER: Right. I am not giving you any particular news there, Elise.
Q: Are there still plans -- no plans yet for any one to go from here?
REEKER: To go where?
Q: To go -- I don't know -- to Montenegro, or to someplace close?
REEKER: I am not aware of any plans, but continue to check that.
Again, this is -- the Serbian people and the opposition are working on
this issue, not us.
(The briefing was concluded at 1:50 P.M.)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
