08 May 2002
Powell, Straw Ask "All Others" to Condemn Bombing in Mideast
(May 8: Powell, British Foreign Secretary after their meeting) (1660)
Speaking for British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as well as himself
after the first of their meetings at the State Department May 8,
Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed "deep regret" for the May 7
terrorist incidents in the Middle East, "which once again puts at risk
the possibility of going forward."
"We condemn them," Powell said, "and we ask all others to condemn
them, and all others who have any hope for a peaceful life in the
future for Palestinian people to do everything they can in their power
to stop this terror and stop this violence."
Foreign Secretary Straw said his discussions with Powell and other
U.S. officials would be "dominated by concerns about the Middle East,"
although next week's NATO ministerial in Iceland and the U.S.-Russia
summit at the end of the month also were on the agenda.
Asked about the effect of the latest terrorism on U.S. peace efforts,
Powell expressed determination to "keep moving forward."
"We must find a way through this crisis," he said. The United States
is "gathering all the different ideas that are out there. ... We
continue to look at ways to reform the Palestinian Authority, and we
look at ways to bring hope to the Palestinian people through economic
development and humanitarian efforts, and we look forward to security
activity that [CIA Director] Mr. [George] Tenet will be pushing
forward."
Asked whether he considered reform of the Palestinian Authority a
prerequisite to political talks between Israelis and Palestinians,
Powell replied: "I think reform is essential. ... But at the same
time, I think you also have to consider the humanitarian part of it,
the economic part of it, and a political dialogue."
Powell sought to put the May 7 terrorist incidents in perspective:
"Yesterday's events were troubling, and every time one of these events
happens it takes us off a course that we were on for a while," he
said. "But I think it's a course that ultimately we have to get back
to, because no matter how many military operations one conducts or how
many suicide bombs are delivered, at the end of the day we have to
find a political solution.
"And I recognize how difficult it is with some of the parties who are
there, some of the leaders who are out there, and with this kind of
violence and with responses that will come and acts of self-defense.
But at the same time, we cannot lose sight of the reality that a
political solution ultimately is what will be required to bring this
long-running crisis to an end."
Following is the State Department transcript of the press conference:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
REMARKS BY SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN L. POWELL AND BRITISH FOREIGN
SECRETARY JACK STRAW AFTER THEIR MEETING
May 8, 2002
C Street Entrance
Washington, D.C.
SECRETARY POWELL: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It's a pleasure
to have Foreign Secretary Straw at the State Department again. We have
just really begun our meeting, and we did a 30-minute conversation to
begin, and then we'll be continuing our discussions over lunch. And as
you might expect, we've been talking about the Middle East.
We've been talking about the upcoming NATO ministerial meeting in
Iceland next week, where we hope to conclude our work with respect to
the NATO-Russia Council.
And I also gave the Foreign Secretary a briefing on how the
developments were coming along with respect to our meetings with the
Russians in Moscow and St. Petersburg later this month when President
Bush and President Putin will have a chance to get together.
It's always a pleasure to receive the Foreign Secretary and to once
again express our support for the close cooperation that exists
between the United Kingdom and the United States on all matters, but
especially during this campaign against terrorism.
I think I can speak for the Foreign Secretary when we say that we note
with deep regret the terrorist incidents yesterday in the occupied
territories, which once again puts at risk the possibility of going
forward, and we condemn them. And we ask all others to condemn them,
and all others who have any hope for a peaceful life in the future for
Palestinian people to do everything they can in their power to stop
this terror and stop this violence.
Jack.
FOREIGN SECRETARY STRAW: Thank you very much, Secretary Powell. Good
morning, everybody. It's a real delight to be back here in Washington
to see Secretary Powell, and as I'll be seeing later on this
afternoon, Vice President Cheney and Condi Rice.
Secretary Powell has already given an indication of the agenda we've
been discussing. We'll also be discussing the continued tension across
the line of control between India and Pakistan in Kashmir. But the
discussions will be dominated by concerns about the Middle East, and
I'd like to reiterate what I said earlier today at a lecture which I
gave at the Brookings Institute of condemnation for these further
suicide bombings, great sympathy and condolences to the relatives and
friends of those killed and to those injured, and concern, as I said
this morning, about the way in which these repeated suicide bombings
arrange not only death and destruction, but also disrupting what will
have to be a necessary process on the pathway back to peace.
Thank you.
QUESTION: Secretary Powell, first of all, have you talked to any
Israeli officials? Even though the Prime Minister just left, have you
been in touch with any Israeli officials about counseling restraint in
terms of their reaction?
And secondly, does it change -- do these events change anything about
your meeting or conference upcoming?
SECRETARY POWELL: On the first point, we were all together in the Oval
Office -- Prime Minister Sharon, President Bush and their associates
-- and I was present when the terrible news came in, and we were
shocked and saddened. The meeting then continued, and we did not
discuss anything further with respect to it.
The Prime Minister cut short his visit here, as you know, and headed
back to meet with his cabinet with respect to whatever actions they
believe are appropriate, but we did not discuss the incident any
further or any response to the incident.
With respect to our efforts, we must keep moving forward. We must find
a way through this crisis. And so the effort that began with President
Bush's speech on the 4th of April laying out a vision for the future,
which then continued with my trip to the region, which has continued
with all of the visitors we've had here and the consultations we've
had with the European Union, with the United Nations, with the United
Kingdom, with Crown Prince Abdullah and King Abdallah, who is here
today, and many other figures.
We are gathering all the different ideas that are out there. We
continue to move forward. We continue to look at ways to reform the
Palestinian Authority, and we look at ways to bring hope to the
Palestinian people through economic development and humanitarian
efforts, and we look forward to security activity that Mr. Tenet will
be pushing forward next week when he goes over, whenever he goes over.
I expect it will be next week.
So that remains our agenda, and it also remains part of our agenda to
look at a political way to go forward, and we're gathering all the
ideas as to how we can do all of that.
QUESTION: Secretary Powell, the Israelis are saying that the United
States now agrees with them that a prerequisite to political talks
between the Israelis and the Palestinians must be the overhaul of the
Palestinian Authority. This is what officials are saying who are
traveling with Sharon on the way back. Is that correct?
SECRETARY POWELL: We talked about the need to see reform within the
Palestinian Authority, and we'll be discussing this with the
Palestinian leaders and various elements of the Palestinian Authority
in the days ahead. But we didn't get into any detailed discussions of
what might be a precondition for something else.
I think reform is essential. You heard both the President and the
Prime Minister speak about that strongly yesterday, and we have spoken
about it at other times. But at the same time, I think you also have
to consider the humanitarian part of it, the economic part of it, and
a political dialogue. And we know what the Prime Minister thinks, and
we'll certainly be taking his thoughts into consideration with the
thoughts and views of many others as we go forward.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, but how relevant can Arafat be now? He failed
to prevent the two attacks yesterday, and yet Prime Minister Sharon is
going to go back and have to work on this political process, saying
that Arafat should be made irrelevant. Did yesterday's events affect
your view on whether Arafat is still relevant?
SECRETARY POWELL: Yesterday's events were troubling, and every time
one of these events happens it takes us off a course that we were on
for a while. But I think it's a course that ultimately we have to get
back to, because no matter how many military operations one conducts
or how many suicide bombs are delivered, at the end of the day we have
to find a political solution.
And I recognize how difficult it is with some of the parties who are
there, some of the leaders who are out there, and with this kind of
violence and with responses that will come and acts of self-defense.
But at the same time, we cannot lose sight of the reality that a
political solution ultimately is what will be required to bring this
long-running crisis to an end.
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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