State Department Noon Briefing
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2000 1:10 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
Q: Okay. To go back to Mr. Arafat, do you have anything new to say on
the idea of an international protection force which he continues to
float as a proposal despite discouraging noises both from here and
from Jerusalem, or wherever the Israeli Government is these days?
MR. BOUCHER: If the question is do I have anything new to say, the
answer is no. We have made quite clear it's not time for new UN
resolutions. The focus remains to implement Sharm. Progress has always
been based on finding areas of agreement between the parties. The best
means to move forward is to do what they have already agreed to.
Q: There has been think tankers trying to figure out what's next. It
seemed to be - it seemed to be that several of them seemed to be
thinking that maybe considering everything, especially the violence,
that it's time to - almost inevitable that you back off and get into
step-by-step diplomacy instead of going for a final settlement.
Is it still the US's intention or hope that something can be done in a
comprehensive way?
MR. BOUCHER: It's still the US's intention to work with the parties to
help them try to achieve what they are in a position to achieve, what
they want to achieve. Obviously we think that, first, attention needs
to be paid to implementing the commitments at Sharm el-Sheikh, to
reducing the violence, restoring the calm. And then as long as the
parties tell us that they want to find a way back to the peace
process, our intention is to work with them to find a way back to the
peace process. But in this, throughout, we have been working with the
parties to help them try to come to agreement on the things that they
are trying to achieve.
....
Q: On Arafat, can you give us any more details on his schedule
tomorrow, or did you do this before I came in?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, we did this before you came in. No, I can't give you
any more details. But, yes, I will check on it.
Q: Do we have him coming back here for a meeting with the Secretary
yet?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, that question was asked before. No, I don't know the
answer. And, yes, I will check on it.
Q: On the Arafat visit, this is technically in response to an
invitation that went out two weeks ago now, or ten days ago. Can you
tell us what the purpose of the invitation is, or has it changed since
it was made? How do you see the - why have you invited him here?
MR. BOUCHER: I think we have been remarkably consistent in terms of
describing the purpose. Chairman Arafat will meet with the President
and Secretary on Thursday. Prime Minister Barak will come on Sunday.
Ending the violence, restoring calm to the region, is our immediate
priority. Our goal in these meetings is to review implementation of
the Sharm el-Sheikh commitments and to find ways to move forward. As
we have said before, it is up to the leaders to make the hard
decisions and take the necessary steps that will make peace possible
in the end.
Q: Okay. So some press reports, which I won't go into details of, have
said your expectations for the meeting are very low. Is that a fair
assessment of the way you feel?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think at any of these meetings we have tried to
set expectations as being high, low or in the middle. The fact is
there is work to be done. There are important issues at stake for the
leaders themselves and for the future of the region, and we think
these meetings need to address those important issues.
Q: It was my understanding that this meeting was not really going to
focus on the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement and implementing an end to the
violence, but more on looking past a time where the violence was going
to be over and they could look ahead to negotiations. Do you have
anything on that?
MR. BOUCHER: That is not what I said. And I don't know why you would
have that understanding, but what I have said is there are a number of
things that need to be looked at. Ending the violence, restoring calm,
is the immediate priority. The goal is also to review implementation
of Sharm el-Sheikh and find ways to move forward.
Q: Saeb Erakat has said that one of the problems that sparked the
violence was the non-implementation of the Wye River Agreement and the
withdrawals. Is that going to be taken up at these meetings this week,
do you think? And, if not, is Mitchell going to be meeting with Arafat
and Barak before he goes out there?
MR. BOUCHER: The fact-finding committee has just been established. We
really don't have anything at this stage on how they intend to
proceed, how long they will take, how they are going to start their
meetings, so I can't really answer questions for them. We obviously
were instrumental in helping them get established and selected and
figuring out whom it is, but now that they are decided, they will
decide their own course of work.
The questions of Wye River and interim issues fall in the same basket.
Any of you can say, you know, are they going to talk about this, are
they going to talk about that, it was my understanding they might do
this, it was my understanding they might do that. I'm not going to
deal with thousands of possibilities. I am going to tell you what they
are going to talk about, what we want to talk about with them. And
that is the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from me.
Q: Can I follow up on that?
MR. BOUCHER: Sure.
Q: Regarding the meeting with Arafat, will he have staff with him and
will Ross be sitting in, et cetera? Do you have any idea?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. I assume Dennis Ross will be sitting in. He
has been in most of them, but not all of them. There have been some
that have been one-on-one with the President. There have been some
that have been small groups and larger. I'm not sure that's decided at
this point.
(The briefing was concluded at 1:45 P.M.)
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