State Department Spokesman on Mideast Peace
Q: Can you give us a readout on her [Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright's] meeting with Saeb Erekat?
MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary, as you know, met this morning with
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. They discussed the current
situation and the follow-up to the commitments made at Sharm el-
Sheikh. As you know, she met on Wednesday with the Israeli foreign
minister. This was a similar meeting. They talked about both the
importance of carrying out the understandings that were reached in
Sharm el-Sheikh and they talked about how to build a bridge back to
the peace process, to further create the environment for the peace
process to go forward.
Q: And can you say that progress was made?
MR. BOUCHER: I think what I can say is what's always mattered to us is
progress on the ground. What we've been looking for is an end to the
violence. The Secretary said this repeatedly, the President has said
this repeatedly. But we're looking to an end to the violence, breaking
the cycle of violence so that people don't suffer, and so that the
violence ceases. And so really, these meetings are ways of discussing
how to achieve that through implementation of the steps at Sharm
el-Sheikh. But what matters in terms of progress, or lack thereof, is
what happens on the ground.
Q: Were you satisfied with Arafat's statements yesterday on ending the
violence?
MR. BOUCHER: I think rather than characterize somebody's statement or
somebody else's steps, what's important to us - and it was an
important sign to us that the parties themselves reached an
understanding about the need to go forward. They made - shall we say
they agreed with each other on the steps needed to go forward. And
based on some of the reporting that we've seen in the press and
elsewhere, they do agree that parties are taking steps or making
efforts in this regard. But clearly, the final analysis, as I just
said, is what happens on the ground, is ending the violence and
stopping the cycle of violence so that we can build the bridge back to
the peace process.
Q: Richard, why is the Secretary - in Mr. Erekat's words - "not
enthusiastic" about the proposal to send an international protection
force to the occupied territories?
MR. BOUCHER: I didn't know that Mr. Erekat said that. But I think our
view --
Q: Did you listen to the tape of that?
MR. BOUCHER: No.
Q: Really? I was told specifically that you had listened to a tape of
what he had said.
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I was given a tape of what he said.
Q: All right.
MR. BOUCHER: But I'm sure I'll look forward to listening to it this
afternoon.
Q: Well, perhaps you might like to try this --
MR. BOUCHER: All right, let me talk about the proposition. I think
you've known there are various proposals out there for U.N. action in
one way or the other. The United States has consistently had
reservations or been opposed to these proposals, and this another one
where we think that the steps that were agreed, the commitments that
have been made, need to be implemented, need to be implemented
thoroughly and quickly, and that's the best way to bring an end to the
violence, not to go back to New York. This is going to be solved in
the region and not outside, because that's where the parties who have
the ability to take steps can take the steps.
Q: Do you think the U.N. has no role in this, then? I mean, it's just
something that an international --
MR. BOUCHER: Well, clearly, we've been talking to Kofi Annan, we've
been talking to other Security Council members. Some of them were at
Sharm el-Sheikh.
So clearly there is a role for other parties. But the final analysis
is that what matters is what happens on the ground, the parties are
able to take the steps on the ground to end the cycle of violence.
Should have listened to the tape, huh? Yeah.
Q: I believe Erekat said that Yasser Arafat is coming to Washington
soon. Is there a plan now to bring he and Barak here, independently or
jointly, in the next few days?
MR. BOUCHER: As you know, the Secretary - the Secretary - the
President has raised the possibility of separate meetings with the
leaders. Secretary Albright said yesterday that they would be expected
to come to Washington at some point, but I don't have anything to
announce for you.
Q: So you don't know that Arafat's coming?
MR. BOUCHER: I didn't say I didn't know. I said I don't have anything
to announce.
Q: Did the Secretary ask Mr. Erekat to relay to Mr. Arafat the message
that the U.S. would like to see him do more in terms of calling for an
end to the violence?
MR. BOUCHER: Our message, as I've given it to you today, as we've
given it to you two days ago, is that both parties need to take the
steps that they agreed to. They need to implement the steps --
Q: (Off mike) - looked at what they've done or not. I mean, do you
think more needs to be done?
MR. BOUCHER: As long as --
Q: Yesterday the Secretary said - she was very clear, and she singled
out Arafat, said we think that he needs to do - that he needs to
condemn --
MR. BOUCHER: As long as the violence continues, we think people need
to do more, and that includes Mr. Arafat. Yeah.
Q All right. So not enough has been done.
MR. BOUCHER: The point here, Matt, is not to castigate; the point is
to describe what needs to be done and what we think still needs to be
done. And we have been quite clear that both sides need to continue to
take the steps - they need to implement the understandings
thoroughly, they need to implement them quickly - in order to end the
cycle of violence.
Q: I have another Arafat question; I'm sorry. This morning at the
airport, some journalists asked Mr. Erekat how much control Arafat has
over the different elements in the region, which is something he gets
asked quite a lot, or the Palestinian side gets asked, and
specifically with regard to the bombing yesterday. And Mr. Erekat's
reply was that Arafat is in control of the Palestinian people, which,
of course, wasn't very clear. And yesterday when Secretary Albright
said he can and should do more, was this something that came up
specifically between them this morning, how much control he does have
over the very militant factions? I mean, I know this is a recurring
theme.
MR. BOUCHER: It is a recurring theme. I don't know if it was discussed
today. But I think that I've made before, the point that I made in
response to the other questions is, obviously, as long as the violence
continues, people in positions of authority, the leaders, need to do
more. They need to continue taking these steps. They need to fully
implement the understandings thoroughly and quickly.
So it's not a question of, you know, "It's out of my hands" or "I
don't have control." There's always things that people need to do, and
we think those things need to be implemented thoroughly and quickly.
Q: And so you believe that Mr. Arafat can do more, even over the Hamas
faction, the actions of the Hamas?
MR. BOUCHER: We think that there are a number of steps that both sides
need to take, including steps that Mr. Arafat needs to take.
Let's go down here and then - yeah?
Q: Go ahead.
Q: Did Secretary Albright call former Turkish President Demirel and
talk about the peace process? If the answer is yes, what kind of help
did she ask from him?
MR. BOUCHER: She's been in touch with a lot of people in recent days
about the peace process. She talked to former President Demirel. I
think it was two or three days ago, but I don't think I have any
further characterization of the conversation for you.
Q: Richard, on that same subject --
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah?
Q: - did she discuss with him the possibility that he might take part
in the fact-finding commission?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any further characterization of the
discussion. But I would say that we are working on the fact-finding
commission. It's something we said we would work on. And she is
working on it. We're working on it at different levels as well.
Q: In the same vein, could you tell us who else she has called, first,
on similar calls in the last few days?
MR. BOUCHER: I think, in all her phone calls in the last few days,
she's had occasion to discuss developments in the Middle East.
Obviously, these are very much on people's minds. She talked to
Secretary-General Annan several times yesterday. She talked to Israeli
Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami several times yesterday.
She's, you know - now I can't remember the whole list. She talked to
Foreign Minister Ivanov several times in the past few days and was
going to be talking to him again, as I came down here to brief, about
the Middle East, but also about the case of Edmond Pope, which remains
a main concern of ours. So she's had any number of conversations in
the last few days with foreign ministers, and she talked to Solana,
the high representative for the EU. And I left my list at home. That's
why I'm pulling it slowly out of my brain.
Q: Did she speak to former President Nelson Mandela?
MR. BOUCHER: Not that I know of.
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