17 December 2001
Transcript: Rumsfeld, Armenian Defense Minister Brief Press in Yerevan
(Dec. 15: Discuss terrorism, military-to-military cooperation) (990)
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Armenian Defense Minister
Serge Sargsyan spoke with the press December 15 following their
meeting in Yerevan; they said the main topic of their discussions was
Armenia's involvement in the campaign against terrorism and military
cooperation between the two countries' defense ministries.
Rumsfeld answered questions about the fighting in Afghanistan and U.S.
plans to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, saying
that "any suggestion by anybody, attributed or unattributed, that some
change in the ABM treaty is going to lead to an arms race is just...
not so."
Following is a transcript of the press briefing:
(begin transcript)
NEWS TRANSCRIPT
United States Department of Defense
DOD NEWS BRIEFING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DONALD H. RUMSFELD
Saturday, December 15, 2001
(Joint press conference with Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan
at the Presidential Palace, Yerevan, Armenia)
Sargsyan: Good afternoon. We have had a round of discussions with U.S.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The main topic of our
discussions with the secretary, as it has already been announced, was
Armenia's involvement in the struggle against terrorism, and military
cooperation between the two country's ministries of defense. We have
expressed our readiness to support the anti-terrorism activities and
have agreed with the secretary of Defense that after the passage of
the decision by U.S. Congress [referring to the waiver of Section 907]
we will discuss concrete issues of cooperation in the military sphere.
Rumsfeld: Thank you very much. Good afternoon, Mr. Minister. We have
indeed had very good discussions with the minister first, and then
with the foreign minister and also the president. We have discussed
our respective roles and responsibilities with respect to the war on
terrorism and, indeed, we also talked about the fact that we are both
partners in the NATO "Partnership for Peace" program and we'll be
seeing each other next week at the NATO Ministerial Meetings. As the
minister said, we are expecting that Congress will act on the waiver
of Section 907 some time this week or next and that our two countries
will be able to proceed with a military-to-military relationship,
which will be of benefit to both of our nations. I am looking at my
calendar and it tells me that the meeting was supposed to end ten
minutes ago but we will take a question or two.
Q: What kind of military assistance are you expecting to receive from
the United States?
Sargsyan: We would like to continue the programs that we are currently
implementing. First of all, it is a program related to officer
training and secondly, completion of the work on the de-mining center.
We attach great importance to both programs and we would like to get
serious assistance in the modernization of our means of communication.
Q: A question to both ministers. What are the main areas where you see
prospects for military cooperation between the two countries?
Rumsfeld: I would agree with the minister's comments earlier.
Q: (Mediamax Armenian news agency) Secretary Rumsfeld, Turkey is a key
partner of the United States in this region and is playing a very
important role in the campaign against terror and Armenia also
participates in this program. Don't you think that now the United
States has to call upon Turkey to stop the blockade of Armenia and
establish diplomatic relations with it to make this region more stable
and predictable?
Rumsfeld: I had a trouble understanding the last portion of the
question. But the United States and Turkey, of course, are partners in
NATO and certainly the United States and Armenia and Turkey are all
partners in the Partnership for Peace in NATO and have worked together
on a variety of things.
Q: (Inaudible) [would you please comment on the last 24 hours'
operations in Afghanistan, the last two days the US was bombing 10
times a day, there were also land operations, could you give us an
update on what is happening now in Afghanistan?]
Rumsfeld: The situation in Afghanistan is essentially calm in areas
such as Mazar-e Sharif and Herat and Kabul. The situation in Kandahar
is still somewhat unsettled but the airport now is under the control
of the U.S. Marines and is being prepared for use. The situation east
of Kabul towards Jalalabad and towards the border continues to be an
area where there is conflict. It is estimated that there are hundreds
of al Qaeda and possibly Taliban forces filled up in the caves and
tunnels and Afghan opposition forces and U.S. forces are pursuing
them. The last report I received indicated that opposition forces are
making good progress. And I can leave the minister of Defense here to
answer questions all evening but I have to leave after one more
question.
Q: (Russian media) There are people who say that the fact of the U.S.
withdrawal from the ABM Treaty will lead to another arms race. Is that
true?
Rumsfeld: It is true that there are people who say that. They are
wrong. They are not just a little wrong, they are very wrong. The
whole history of your adult life proves they are wrong. Since the
beginning of Arms Control in the 1960s and 70s the numbers of weapons
were going up and up and up. That was an arms race during the era of
arms control. President Putin and President Bush have announced they
are going to have the weapons go down and down and down from thousands
down to 1700 to 2200. Any suggestion by anybody, attributed or
unattributed, that some change in the ABM treaty is going to lead to
an arms race is just flap -- not so. In fact, the next five years will
prove what I've just said to be the case.
Thank you very much, nice to see you all.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
