20 September 2001
Transcript: Armitage, NATO's Robertson with Media in Brussels Sept. 20
(Deputy Secretary of State, NATO Secretary General) (1140)
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and NATO Secretary
General Lord Robertson held a press availability after their meeting
at NATO headquarters in Brussels September 20.
Armitage said he had come to Brussels for three reasons:
- to express America's condolences to the nations that lost citizens
in the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States;
- to thank NATO for its rapid invocation of Article Five of the
Washington Treaty, which states that an armed attack against one or
more of the allies in Europe or North America shall be considered an
attack against them all; and
- to share information about the global coalition against terrorism
that President Bush is putting together.
Asked what specifically Europeans could offer in the war against
terrorism beyond political support, Armitage replied that a "sustained
campaign" against terrorism was under way and that it is not just
military in nature.
"It's political, it's economic, it will mean sharing of intelligence.
So I think there is a role of some sort for every nation who is
disgusted by terrorism and has had enough," he said.
Robertson said that all of NATO and the individual Allies "are
determined to collectively contribute and cooperate with other members
of the International Community to this fight."
Following is the NATO transcript of the press availability:
(begin transcript)
NATO Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
September 20, 2001
U.S. DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE ARMITAGE AND NATO SECRETARY GENERAL
LORD ROBERTSON: PRESS AVAILABILITY
NATO SPOKESMAN YVES BRODEUR: Thank you very much and welcome to this
very brief point de presse with the Secretary General of the
organization, Lord Robertson, and the Deputy Secretary of State
Richard Armitage. We'll have to be extremely brief. Mr. Armitage has a
very tight program, and he must be very rigorous. So we will open the
floor for two comments, and then we'll have time for only three
questions afterwards. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY GENERAL LORD ROBERTSON: Thank you. This has been a very
valuable meeting with the highest level representative of the United
States Administration to come here to NATO Headquarters since we
invoked Article Five last week. Mr. Armitage was not here to ask the
Alliance for anything. He was here to brief, and to give information,
and we've had a very good discussion about these things. The Allies --
all of NATO and the individual Allies -- are determined to
collectively contribute and cooperate with other members of the
International Community to this fight. It may be a long fight, but we
hope successful fight against terrorism. But today, each of the Allies
who contributed to the discussion underlined yet again the firmness of
the Alliance members' solidarity with the United States at this
difficult time. A very important meeting has taken place. I'll ask Mr.
Armitage if he'll speak to us briefly.
DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE ARMITAGE: Thank you, Mr. Secretary General.
Thank you very much for having me. The President and the Secretary of
State of the United States asked me to come here for several purposes.
The first, and I think most important, is to note with great sadness
that all but three of the member nations lost citizens in this
terrible attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. And in the
name of the United States, I wanted to express condolences to the
nations who lost citizens in that heinous crime. Second, I wanted to
express our enormous admiration and appreciation for the very rapid
invocation of Article Five. This is something that gives the United
States a great deal of both comfort and confidence, Mr. Secretary
General. And third, I came here to share information: to talk about
the grand coalition that President Bush is trying to put together and
to make the point very dramatically and graphically that this is a
global war on terrorism. It doesn't just stop in Afghanistan. So thank
you very much for having me, Mr. Secretary General.
NATO SPOKESMAN YVES BRODEUR: Please identify yourself and keep your
questions brief.
QUESTION: My name is Boda from Czech Television. I wonder, following
the news from the German press, if you are or are not afraid that NATO
might become the next target of any further attacks by the terrorists.
SECRETARY GENERAL LORD ROBERTSON: I don't think that you would expect
me to say anything about our security measures, but you can be sure
that we are well prepared to deal with any threat to this
Headquarters.
QUESTION: Klaus from ZDF. Mr. Armitage, how does NATO solidarity now
materialize? Did you ask something new from NATO other than Article
Five?
DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE ARMITAGE: No. I didn't, as I said, come here
to ask for anything. I came here to share with good Allies the
information we have. I did point out that in this coalition building
there is a continuum from, on the one hand, rhetorical or political
support for activities on this global attack on terrorism. It runs the
gamut to sharing of intelligence, sharing of financial information,
perhaps overflight rights, etc. And at the far end of the continuum is
the possibility of some military activity either together or
unilaterally. But no decisions have been made, and I didn't come here
to request any particular thing.
NATO SPOKESMAN YVES BRODEUR: We have time for one question. Last
question please.
QUESTION: Mr. Armitage. Judy Dempsey from the Financial Times. What
did you get from Russia while you were there? What did you tell the
NAC [North Atlantic] Council after your meeting with Russia?
DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE ARMITAGE: Well I briefed the NAC Council
about the general content of my discussions with Deputy Foreign
Minister Trubnikov and his colleagues, and mentioned very briefly the
discussions that Foreign Minister Ivanov had with both Secretary
Powell and with President Bush. The press statement that was issued
following our meeting in Moscow indicated that the Russian Government
was prepared to give all possible support, and I discussed that very
briefly with the NAC. Thank you.
QUESTION: Matt Kaminski from the Wall Street Journal. What can the
Europeans offer beyond political support? Can you go into any more
details?
DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE ARMITAGE: If I can talk generically -- I
don't want to speak specifically about any nation or any organization
-- this is going to be a sustained campaign on terrorism. And I think
it is quite clear to most, if not all, in this room that this is not
just military in nature. It's political, it's economic, it will mean
sharing of intelligence. So I think there is a role of some sort for
every nation who is disgusted by terrorism and has had enough.
SECRETARY GENERAL LORD ROBERTSON: Thank you very much.
DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE ARMITAGE: Thank you very much.
(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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