19 September 2001
Transcript: Powell, Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov Confer
(Terrorism, missile defense, summit discussed) (2270)
Following a meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington
September 19, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that all means
-- "including, when and if necessary, use of force," -- must be used
in the global fight against terrorism.
Speaking at a joint press availability with Powell at the State
Department, Ivanov also expressed optimism at the recent "decrease of
tension" between Israel and the Palestinians. "Both Russia and the
United States are in favor of beginning direct dialogue" between the
Israeli and Palestinian leaders, he said.
Powell told reporters that he had earlier in the day spoken with both
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon, to express satisfaction over the decrease in
violence over the previous 24 hours. Powell said he had "encouraged
both sides to keep moving in this direction."
Powell said he and the Russian foreign minister spoke about terrorism
"at considerable length," and that there was a good discussion in that
regard of "potential areas of cooperation." For his part, Ivanov began
his remarks by expressing condolences to the American people over the
terrorist attacks of September 11. Calling it a "blatant challenge to
all of civilized humanity," Ivanov also called for joint efforts to
construct a global system to combat international terrorism.
A full range of regional issues was discussed at the meeting,
including Iran, Iraq and Macedonia, Powell said. Nevertheless, Ivanov
said the bulk of the meeting was taken up with the upcoming meeting of
their presidents in Shanghai for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum summit in October, and Russian President Putin's first
official visit to the United States in November.
Powell said the two men also had a good discussion about the talks
that are being held at various levels of the two governments on the
matter of a new strategic framework, including missile defense. Ivanov
added that the positions of the two sides on some of these security
matters are coming closer together.
Following is the transcript of the joint press availability:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
September 19, 2001
Remarks By Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell And Russian Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov After Their Meeting
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It was
again a great pleasure for me to receive my colleague, Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov, here at the State Department. This is our eighth
meeting. We have met in Cairo, in Rome, Budapest, Brussels, Hanoi,
Washington twice, and I have promised him that our next meeting will
be in Moscow, unless we happen to meet in Crawford, Texas, or
somewhere -- or in Shanghai.
So it's part of a long series of discussions and constant phone calls
that have allowed us to develop a solid relationship, not only between
our two ministries, but between our two countries. And today was no
exception. We spoke about terrorism at considerable length. I was very
pleased to receive from the Minister expressions of condolence for
those who lost their lives at the World Trade Center and at the
Pentagon last week.
Deputy Secretary Armitage called me from Moscow this morning to also
tell me what it was like in Moscow to have Russian citizens coming by
our embassy to place flowers and candles and otherwise remember those
who lost their lives.
We had a good discussion of potential areas of cooperation as we go
after this worldwide threat to civilization, and a comprehensive
campaign where all elements of national and international power must
be used: law enforcement, military activity, legal actions, financial
actions, anything that can be used to get at these terrorist
organizations. In the first instance, al-Qaida and Mr. Usama bin
Laden, but ultimately terrorism wherever it rears its ugly head.
We also had a full discussion of regional issues, Iran, Iraq,
Macedonia and other areas of interest to us, and we had a good
discussion as well of the conversations we have been having between
our two sides on a new strategic framework. And I think we are moving
in the right direction. We have not solved the problem yet of how we
can find a new strategic framework to go forward. But I think in our
conversations today and the conversations that Under Secretary Bolton
and Assistant Secretary Fife of the Pentagon have had with Russian
military officials and Defense Ministry officials and Foreign Affairs
Ministry officials, we can begin to see a way ahead that will increase
stability and lead us in the direction of a new strategic framework.
So, once again, Igor, a great pleasure to receive you, sir.
FOREIGN MINISTER IVANOV: (As translated.) First of all, on behalf of
the President of Russia and on behalf of the entire Russian people, I
would like to once again express sincere condolences to the people of
the United States over the tragedy, which occurred on the 11th of
September in the United States. There is no doubt that this crime,
unprecedented in its scale, goes far beyond the borders of the United
States.
The international terrorism has caused a blatant challenge to all
civilized humanity, to all civilized world. This reaffirms once again
the urgent necessity to join efforts of the entire international
community in the fight against new challenges and threats, including
in the first place the threat of international terrorism.
Russia and the United States have agreed to closely coordinate their
actions in these areas. We will be coordinating our efforts within the
framework of appropriate agencies as well as within the framework of
appropriate working groups that have already been established and that
have already been working between the United States and Russia.
At the same time, we believe that it's high time that we established
by joint efforts a global system to counteract global threats and
challenges. And we believe that the work on establishing such global
system must begin as early as today.
We also place the main focus of our negotiations today on the
preparations for the forthcoming summit meetings between the
Presidents of Russia and the United States in Shanghai during the
summit of APEC as well as the preparations of the first official visit
of Russian President Putin to the United States.
We are satisfied with the fact that the relations between Russia and
the United States are gaining positive dynamics. This has become
possible, first of all, thanks to the summit meetings that our
Presidents, the Presidents of Russia and the United States, conducted
in Ljubljana and Genoa. And we are convinced that the forthcoming
meetings between our Presidents will give a further impetus, a further
impulse to our relations.
As the Secretary of State of the United States has just pointed out,
we are conducting intensive consultations on the entire scope of
issues relating to strategic security. On some of the issues, our
positions are becoming closer. On the other issues, we are continuing
active consultations. We have agreed to continue these consultations
to be able to report the first results during the forthcoming summits
of our Presidents.
We have also discussed regional conflicts. First of all, we expressed
some optimism in connection with a decrease of tensions, with some
decrease of tension in the Middle East. Both Russia and the United
States are in favor of beginning direct dialogue between Peres and
Arafat to begin practical implementation of the Mitchell Plan.
We have discussed also a number of other issues on which we are
closely cooperating. I would like to specifically underscore that the
negotiations were conducted in an open and constructive atmosphere.
And I would like to thank personally for this, Mr. Secretary of State.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much.
I just might add that earlier today, I spoke to both Chairman Arafat
and to Prime Minister Sharon and expressed my satisfaction that the
first 24 hours of the arrangement they made yesterday has resulted in
a significant decrease in the amount of violence in the region. I
encouraged both sides to keep moving in this direction.
The Prime Minister advised me that he had talked to Mr. Peres earlier
with the same message. Prime Minister Sharon noted that, for the first
time in many, many months, he has seen quiet since midnight of last
night. And let us all hope that we can keep this process now moving
forward and it will result in an early meeting between Foreign
Minister Peres and Chairman Arafat.
We have time for just a couple of questions.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, can I ask you -- can I ask both of you --
there is obviously concern, as well as support, among your allies
about the scale of any future American military action. Can you offer
any reassurance to your allies about what you are planning?
And Foreign Minister Ivanov, have you had any words of caution to add?
SECRETARY POWELL: We are approaching this not as a single battle to be
fought by the military but as a campaign that will involve all of our
elements of national power. And we will be discussing with our friends
and allies in the days ahead exactly how we think this campaign should
unfold.
With respect to the military component of such a campaign, I would not
of course get into any of the details. But we know that there are some
of our friends who are in a position to participate in such
operations, and others who really will just provide us other kinds of
support, whether it's diplomatic support, political support or working
with the international police and intelligence activities. So at this
time, I am not prepared to describe what the nature of any of our
military planning might be.
FOREIGN MINISTER IVANOV: (As translated.) As Mr. Secretary of State
has already said, we have not discussed concrete issues related to
possible reaction of the United States to these events. At the same
time, we share common position that we need to strengthen
international cooperation in combating international terrorism. All
means must be used in the fight against terrorism, beginning from
political and legal means and including, when and if necessary, use of
force.
We maintain constant contacts through our specialized services and
between our foreign ministries. We have ongoing information exchanges,
and we will continue to maintain our constant, close contact on all
these issues.
QUESTION: You mentioned that the United States is willing to fight
international terrorism anywhere. Does that include Chechnya? Because
Russia faced international terrorism much earlier than September the
11th.
And a question to the Foreign Minister. (In Russian.)
SECRETARY POWELL: We have discussed this on many occasions. Russia is
facing a difficult challenge in Chechnya and we know it's a challenge
they must respond to, and we will do what we can to help. But, at the
same time, we have always encouraged our Russian colleagues to work
hard to find a political solution to this tragic conflict, and also to
defend their interests in a way that are consistent with human rights
and other standards. But we recognize the serious challenge faced by
Russia in Chechnya.
FOREIGN MINISTER IVANOV: (As translated.) I have said that, in
combating international terrorism, no means can be excluded, including
the use of force. At the same time, so far, we have not discussed with
the United States any specific, any concrete actions.
QUESTION: Will you be requiring a UN resolution before joining in any
military action?
SECRETARY POWELL: There is a UN resolution that was passed last week.
And as we go forward in the development of this campaign, if we see a
need for additional UN resolutions to authorize certain actions, not
necessarily military actions but other actions such as with respect to
fighting international terrorism or going after financial support of
international terrorism, we would certainly bring such proposals to
the United Nations.
FOREIGN MINISTER IVANOV: (As translated.) You know, the United Nations
has already passed a large number of documents related to combating
international terrorism. If I'm not mistaken, there are as many
documents as 12 on this issue. We believe that the United Nations
shall continue to play a leading role in joining in concerting the
efforts, in combining the efforts of the international community in
the fight against international terrorism.
SECRETARY POWELL: We have time for just one more before the Minister
has to go see the President.
QUESTION: Is the United States going to send troops to Afghanistan?
SECRETARY POWELL: When we have decided what our entire campaign plan
is, to include any military actions we might take, the world will know
about it. But I am not prepared to discuss any potential military
operations at this time.
Thank you very much.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, time for one more?
SECRETARY POWELL: I have to get to the White House.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, did the Russians make any linkages
whatsoever, whether it be with Chechnya, national missile defense,
with NATO expansion? Were there any requests on their side?
SECRETARY POWELL: We talked about all of these items, as we always do,
missile defense, ABM, Chechnya. But they presented no linkages between
that and the current incident. The current tragedy that we are dealing
with, they were very forthcoming, they want to be helpful, and they
didn't put any specific requests or bills or links on the table.
Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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