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State Department Briefing, September 23

23 September 2005

Sudan, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, State Department Offices in Houston Closed/State hosts Meeting Today with Washington, D.C. Diplomatic Community to Discuss Foreign Missions and Foreign Nationals Present in Houston Area, Travel by Under Secretary of State Karen Hughes to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey for Meetings with Government Officials, Civil Society, Students and Educators, Secretary Rice's Meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel/Palestinians, Ukraine

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack briefed the press September 23.

Following is the transcript of the State Department briefing:

(begin transcript)

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing Index
Friday, September 23, 2005
12:37 p.m. EDT

Briefer:  Sean McCormack, Spokesman

SUDAN
-- Statement on Appointment of Cabinet and Opening of National Assembly
-- Secretary's Meetings with Sudanese Female Victims of Violence/U.S. AID Fighting Violence Against Women

PAKISTAN
-- Disagreement between Pakistani Government and The Washington Post over Quotes by President Musharraf

SYRIA
-- Investigation by Mr. Mehlis into the Assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri

IRAN
-- Discussions with EU-3 and Others/Response to Iran's History of Noncompliance
-- Consensus for Action at IAEA Board of Governors Meeting
-- Building Broader Consensus to Send Message to Iran Regarding Nuclear Program
-- Russia Shares Concerns About Iran's Nuclear Program

DEPARTMENT
-- State Department Offices in Houston Closed/State hosts Meeting Today with Washington, D.C. Diplomatic Community to Discuss Foreign Missions and Foreign Nationals Present in Houston Area
-- Travel by Under Secretary of State Karen Hughes to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey for Meetings with Government Officials, Civil Society, Students and Educators
-- Secretary Rice's Meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

IRAQ
-- Reports of Saudi Foreign Minister's Comments
-- U.S. Support for Iraq/Training of Iraqi Security Forces
-- Iraqi Participation in Political Process
-- Need for Iraq's Neighbors to Offer Political and Diplomatic Support

LEBANON
-- Prime Minister Calls For President to Resign

EGYPT
-- Secretary Rice's Meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister

SAUDI ARABIA
-- Secretary Rice's Meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister

ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS
-- Security at Rafah Crossing/Greater Control by Palestinian Authority in Security and Economic Situation
-- Progress in Repairing Greenhouses for Production of Goods
-- Moving Forward on Resolution of Issues Between Israel and the Palestinians
Wolfensohn Working with the Parties
-- Palestinian Authority Obligations Under the Roadmap

UKRAINE
-- Appointment of New Prime Minister/Congratulations to Prime Minister/Strengthening U.S.-Ukraine Relations/U.S. Assistance to New Government

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2005
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

12:37 p.m. EDT

MR. MCCORMACK:  Good afternoon.  I don't have any opening statements, so I'd be happy to jump right into questions.

Mr. Schweid.

QUESTION:  Yeah, do you have anything to say about the new government in Sudan which has found room for Christians in the south?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Well, I put out a statement on this yesterday, Barry.  I'd be happy to go through that with you again.

QUESTION:  No, no, if you did that's fine.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Okay.

QUESTION:  We were otherwise engaged, so do I get another shot?  We've got a whole list --

MR. MCCORMACK:  That's right, yeah -- a swing and a miss.  A swing and a miss, you get another one.

QUESTION:  Khodorkovsky and the President's brother, Neil, were in Latvia and you know how unpopular Khodorkovsky is with the Russians.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Khordokovsky?

QUESTION:  No, Berezovsky.  He lives in London.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Berezovsky.

QUESTION:  Berezovsky, excuse me, Berezovsky.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Okay.

QUESTION:  Was there any consultation with the State Department before this duo went to Latvia?

MR. MCCORMACK:  I'll have to check for you, Barry.

QUESTION:  Any arrangements made and are -- the President's brother, apparently is in some business venture.  I wondered if you guys are helping him.

MR. MCCORMACK:  As for any questions involving this, Barry, I'll have to get back to you.

QUESTION:  Thank you.  Thank you.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Okay.  Strike two.  Would you care for a number three?  Okay.

QUESTION:  (Inaudible) you want them all at once?  Musharraf apparently told a Washington newspaper some women approve of getting raped because somehow this seems an economic benefit.  Do you know about this?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Well I have sent he news reports about this and let me say a couple of things.

QUESTION:  (Inaudible.)

MR. MCCORMACK:  It has been widely reported and I believe that a Canadian Prime Minister has made some remarks about this.  A couple of things:  One, as I know that there is a dispute between the Pakistani Government and The Washington Post as to whether or not President Musharraf was quoted accurately.  That is an issue for The Washington Post and the Government of Pakistan to resolve.  I'm not here to play judge about whether or not he was quoted accurately.  But on the issue of violence against women, let me just say very clearly that the United States Government speaks out very clearly that violence against women, wherever it may occur, is unacceptable.  And around the world, where this is a problem, we make a point of speaking out against it.

Most recently, for example, the Secretary was in Sudan and she talked to victims of violence -- that were victims of violence against women.  And as a result of that conversation we have talked to the Government of Sudan.  We have also talked to our AID people in-country to devote even more resources to fighting violence against women.  So our position is very clear on this and one thing we also do is we encourage leaders around the world to speak out about the fact that violence against women is unacceptable.

Okay.  Sue.

QUESTION:  The Post ran a story today on Syria trying to negotiate some kind of deal with the -- to prevent some punitive action that -- on the investigation into Hariri's death.  Have there been many discussions between -- or discussions between yourself and the Syrians to try and work out a deal?  And do you know of this special arrangement?

MR. MCCORMACK:  There are no discussions between the U.S. and Syria on such a matter and any details of any alleged discussions that others may have had, I don't have anything for you on that.  Let me make very clear, however, one point.  And that is that we support and expect an independent investigation from Mr. Mehlis and that is what we have -- and that's what we have seen to this point.  He is continuing his work.  He has received cooperation from authorities in Lebanon and he has also been talking to authorities in Syria about their full cooperation.  And we would expect that the Syrian authorities do extend Mr. Mehlis their full cooperation because the Lebanese people are owed an answer as to who was responsible for the assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri.

QUESTION:  So would you disapprove of some kind of deal that's being sewn behind the scenes?

MR. MCCORMACK:  What we expect is that Mr. Mehlis enjoy full independence in his investigation and that his investigation follows the facts wherever they may lead.

Yes, Michel.

QUESTION:  Do you have any update on Iran or Iran's issue?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Iran's --

QUESTION:  And the IAEA.

MR. MCCORMACK:  The IAEA.  I don't have much to offer beyond where we were yesterday.  There are ongoing diplomatic conversations in Vienna.  Our diplomats on the ground are working with other interested parties, including the EU-3 on this matter.  I think that, you know, our view remains that there needs to be an effective response to Iran's history of noncompliance with its international obligations, in defiance of the international community.  Most recently, we have seen that in the speech of the Iranian President at the United Nations.

So we believe that at this Board of Governors meeting there needs to be an effective response to that defiance and that failure to abide by their international obligations.  There are a variety of different options that are being considered now and I think that the negotiations are ongoing, so I can't provide you a play by play on that.  We would note that if a vote were to be taken today, that we think that there are the votes at the IAEA, a majority of votes for referral to the Security Council.  So what we are doing now is working with our international partners, with the EU-3 in the lead, to build the broadest possible consensus for effective action at this Board of Governors meeting.  And I would note that under IAEA guidelines, certainly you can operate under consensus, but also you can have a majority that would vote for effective action.

QUESTION:  Sean, just follow up on that.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Yes.

QUESTION:  I mean, you were saying at the beginning of this week that you would have the votes for a majority, but any signs at all that this consensus is building, that you are getting more countries to support sending a tough signal to Iran?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Well, I think that we are seeing movement on the part of some countries and what action they will take in terms of how they vote will be something that we see play out I would expect over the next day or two.  So we are working both here in Washington and in capitals and in Vienna to try to build this consensus, so the diplomatic discussions are ongoing with respect to this matter and I would expect that they would continue for the next day or so.

QUESTION:  Can you be any more specific about the movement, about which countries?

MR. MCCORMACK:  I think at this point --

QUESTION:  About which direction.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Well, as we've said, we're trying to build a broader consensus.

QUESTION:  And that's where you see the movement going?

MR. MCCORMACK:  We are trying to build a broader consensus that sends a strong message to Iran that their continuing failure to abide by their international obligations is not acceptable.

QUESTION:  You just said that -- this is just really a housekeeping matter, I imagine, but you just said you're seeing movement on the part of some countries.  I'm just seeking to confirm with you that the movement you see is toward the consensus you're trying to build, correct?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Let me just say in a positive direction.

QUESTION:  I see.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Sue.

QUESTION:  Has the Secretary spoken to the Russians at all and have there been any further telephone calls today?

MR. MCCORMACK:  I'll try to update you later on any phone calls that may have been made.

Mr. Weisman.

QUESTION:  You can call me Steve.

(Laughter.)

MR. MCCORMACK:  It is the New York Times, after all.

QUESTION:  The Russians and some others have a different tactical view of this, not that they're opposed or not that they disagree with the U.S. assessment of Iran's conduct, but rather their fear that it will backfire and provoke them to walk away from the NPT.  Could you address how you respond to that, please?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Our response is to try to work the diplomatic channels with the Russians.  As you point out, they have, in public, expressed a different view in terms of the diplomatic tactics.  As you pointed out, they share the same concern that we and the EU-3 and other countries have about Iran's nuclear program.

The objective here is to see that Iran is not allowed to obtain nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program.  Everybody agrees.  Russia, everybody agrees, that that would -- if Iran obtained nuclear weapons, that would be destabilizing for the region and destabilizing for the world.

Everybody also agrees that Iran should not be allowed to have enrichment technology or know-how, or reprocessing technology or know-how.  That's why the Russians structured their Bushehr reactor deal the way that they did.

So what we're doing is we are having continuing discussions with the Russians as well as others about what course to take at this Board of Governors meeting.  We will see over the next day or so what their decision is.  So I would say that only at this point it's a matter of continuing discussion and diplomacy in Vienna with the Russians and others.

QUESTION:  Is there an update on the three U.S. offices in Houston, the 35, is it, or 37 foreign missions there?

MR. MCCORMACK:  We are -- I don't have any update in terms of --

QUESTION:  Anybody departing or --

MR. MCCORMACK:  Well, again, as we said, those offices are closed yesterday and our officials on the ground are going to be taking their guidance from state and local recommendations as to whether to leave or to stay in place.

We are meeting with members of the diplomatic community today to talk to them about their missions, specifically those with missions in the Houston area, as well as those who might have foreign nationals present in those areas.

QUESTION:  Somewhere here in Washington?  The meeting is here?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Yeah, the meeting is here.  Yes.  This is something that we did during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  We brought in representatives of diplomatic missions here in Washington to talk about either their facilities in New Orleans or the affected area or any questions they may have about foreign nationals.  So we're doing the same thing now with -- in the run-up to Hurricane Rita, as it moves towards the Gulf Coast.

QUESTION:  Is that State Department's --

MR. MCCORMACK:  Yes.

QUESTION:  Have you done it already today or is it ongoing?

MR. MCCORMACK:  It should be happening very shortly.

Yes, ma'am.

QUESTION:  North Korea.  North Korea has requested the World Food Organization to close their local office in Pyongyang by the end of the November.  What is your comment on that?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Well, I'm aware of these reports.  I know that there are ongoing discussions between the North Korean government and the World Food Program.  North Korea has expressed that they are no longer in need of humanitarian assistance.  We will be talking to our partners in the international community about what appropriate response there would be to this request from North Korea.  The U.S. has had a long history of being very generous to the North Korean people in helping them meet their humanitarian needs.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION:  My question concerns a two-day-old memo to the Secretary from the President regarding the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and specifically as it relates to provisions to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are in the national interest of the United States.  Could you illuminate a little bit more about this decision, what does it mean in a little more plain language and what went into this?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Right.  Well, I'll try to get you some more information on that.

QUESTION:  Take the question?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Yeah.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Libby?

QUESTION:  The Saudi Foreign Minister has expressed some concerns about Iraq, both in the papers and I think at the UN.  Did he express that in the meeting with the Secretary yesterday and, you know, was that a big sort of topic of their meeting?

MR. MCCORMACK:  You know, I have seen the reports of the Saudi Foreign Minister's comments and I think all I would say is that we see a situation in Iraq in which the Iraqi people at every opportunity have chosen to pull together in the political process.  There are those that are outside the political process -- terrorists and insurgents.  But the vast, vast majority of Iraqis at every point along the continuum, if you go back to discussions in the run-up to approval of the Transitional Administrative Law, all the way through the transfer of sovereignty through the elections on January 30th and through the drafting of the constitution, you've seen the Iraqi people in the political process pull together and come together.

We fully support a unified Iraq.  An Iraq that is free, an Iraq that is stable and peaceful and that is what we are working with the Iraqi Government to try to achieve.

There are, you know, again, there are those that are outside the political process and some that will never try to enter the political process and you have to deal with those individuals through force of arms.  And we are working with the Iraqi people to train up their security forces to address those individuals.  But what we have seen over time is more and more, including in the Sunni community, decide that their future lay in resolving any disagreements they may have through a peaceful political process.

QUESTION:  What was the Secretary's reaction though to hearing that come from the Saudi Foreign Minister?

MR. MCCORMACK:  I think our reaction is to just outline how we see the situation.

QUESTION:  The Foreign Minister shares the goal of unity.  He told the Associated Press in a long interview yesterday that he's worried about the harm, as he put it, that might come, the country splitting apart into three parts.  He's questioning the effectiveness of what you're doing.  He's not questioning the goals.  So I guess the question still is, did he question that in talking to the Secretary?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Again, Barry, I've seen these remarks.  I've seen the interview that he gave to your news organization.  And I would only say that what I have done is describe how we see the situation.  And what we just -- I'll give you a concrete example -- in just since the January elections, we have seen more than a million Sunnis register.

So what you're -- what is that telling you?  That is telling you that even though they, prior to the January 30 elections, as a community decided that they were not going to participate in the political process in those elections.  But we have seen since then is a decision by more and more Iraqis that they want to participate in the political process.  And what that tells me is that they, the Iraqi people, again, in the face of real challenges -- and I am not trying to undersell the difficulties that the Iraqi people face at this moment in time -- but in the face of that, what they are doing is they are pulling together in the political process.  And they are coming to arrangements as to how they organize themselves politically.  The relationship of the provinces to the center and a variety of other questions and I think what they deserve is our support.  And I would -- one thing that we have encouraged Iraq's neighbors to do is to offer them the political and diplomatic support that the Iraqi people are asking for.

QUESTION:  Is that a message to Riyadh to send an ambassador to Iraq?

MR. MCCORMACK:  We have encouraged, I think, all of Iraq's neighbors to support Iraq politically and diplomatically in whatever way that they can.

Yes.

QUESTION:  So did you find the Saudi Ambassador's comments unhelpful in terms of pushing -- sorry, Foreign Minister --

MR. MCCORMACK:  Foreign Minister.

QUESTION:  -- in pushing the process forward?

MR. MCCORMACK:  I think I've addressed the issue the way that I want to.

QUESTION:  Thanks.

MR. MCCORMACK:  James.

QUESTION:  The question was posed twice not about what our aims are in Iraq, but the question, very simply a yes-or-no question, was whether the comments reported of the Saudi official were the same or matched those that he conveyed privately to Secretary Rice.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Yeah, I'm not going to get into their meeting and whatever diplomatic exchanges they had.

Yes.

QUESTION:  The Prime Minister of Lebanon yesterday called his President to resign and it happened just after big multilateral meeting in New York organized by the Secretary Rice.  I wonder if he was encouraged to do that during this meeting.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Those are decisions for the Lebanese people and people involved in the Lebanese political process to make.  It is not for the United States or other members of the Core Group to dictate.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION:  Today, the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Valinakis met here at the State Department with Assistant Secretary Daniel Fried and the Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt Bryza.  I am wondering if you have anything on that.

MR. MCCORMACK:  I don't have anything for you.

QUESTION:  Can you take the question?

MR. MCCORMACK:  If there is anything that we have to offer, we'll certainly get it to you.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Yes.

QUESTION:  On the subject that they were just discussing, the Secretary's meetings with the Egyptian Foreign Minister and the Saudi Foreign Minister, and I understand the Qatari Foreign Minister --

MR. MCCORMACK:  That's today.

QUESTION:  Today, yes.  Might it be possible that we could get a posting at least talking about the subjects that have been discussed, if we can't get into any substance about those subjects?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Sure.  In terms of the meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, they talked about a variety of different issues.  They talked about Iraq.  They talked about the Israeli-Palestinian issue.  They talked about the importance of encouraging the spread of democracy in the region.  With the Saudi Foreign Minister, it was very similar topics.  They talked about Iran.  They talked about Iraq.  They talked about the Israeli-Palestinian situation.

QUESTION:  Oil?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Didn't come up.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Do you have any preview of Karen Hughes' trip next week and what --

MR. MCCORMACK:  Well, many of you are going to be on that trip.  She is very much looking forward to this, her first overseas trip in her official capacity as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.  She's going to be bringing -- a number of reporters are going to be traveling with her as well.

I think that she has discussed this in terms of a listening tour.  She's going -- making stops in Egypt, in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and she's going to be holding different events there, meeting with government officials, meeting with members of civil society, meeting with students, young people, educators.

And so what she is going to be doing is talking about, you know, talking about our policies, our values, and she's going to be listening.  So I think the idea here is that she's going to be starting a conversation with the rest of the world.  This first trip is centered on the Middle East region.  And in listening, she will also be trying to explain our policies and laying the foundation for the coming years in terms of our public diplomacy efforts.

And I think you can also look at this as a first step in having others listen to us, listen to us about our policies, the values that underline those policies, and begin the process of opening minds as we, ourselves, are listening to what the rest of the world says.

Yes, Steve.

QUESTION:  Coming back to Egypt for a second, you mentioned the Israeli -- the Gaza situation.  There was some few days of chaos on the border between Gaza and Egypt.  What's the latest assessment that you would offer about how that border is being secured?

MR. MCCORMACK:  There were some initial issues regarding securing that border along the Rafah crossing.  I believe at this -- and the Palestinians as well as the Egyptians know that it was very important to get control and maintain control over that border.  I think that they have taken important steps to do just that and I think that every single day what you see is the Palestinian Authority in a variety of different ways exerting greater and greater control in terms of the security situation and in terms of the economic situation.

There were some issues just after the Israeli withdrawal, for example, regarding looting of the greenhouses.  There was a lot of discussion in the run-up to the withdrawal about the greenhouses and the importance of maintaining those assets as something for the Palestinian people and important to their economy.  And we have heard reports that, in fact, that they have made great progress in getting those greenhouses back in shape and back up online so they can be used to start producing goods that can be sold as an important part of the Palestinian economy.

So I think that every single day the Palestinian Authority is addressing the challenges that are before it.  They understand what the challenges are and they know that it's important that they provide an atmosphere that is secure, calm and stable, not only for their own people but also to build confidence with other members of the international community, including Israel, as we all talk about ways to build on the success of Gaza withdrawal and move forward on resolving the issues between Israel and the Palestinians.

QUESTION:  Just following up on that, if I might.  With Wolfensohn, I think, back in the area, there's increasing talk of a third-party presence at that border -- perhaps the Europeans.  What's the U.S. view on that right now?  Is that something that we think might be a good idea?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Well, right now, as you point out, this is an issue that Mr. Wolfensohn is working on with the parties.  I think there are a number of different options for dealing with the fundamental issue of how do you have safe, secure and efficient crossing of goods and people across these border crossings.  This is not only an issue of -- along the southern crossing, but along the other crossings going into and out of Gaza.  And it's an issue that we're continuing to work on as an interested party with others, with the Israelis, with the Palestinians, with the Egyptians, with Mr. Wolfensohn.  At this point, I don't think that they have come to a final -- the final solution that they are going to have to that particular crossing.  But there are a variety of different options out there, Steve, right now.

Yeah.

QUESTION:  Would you have any comment on the situation in Ukraine where President --

QUESTION:  Can we stay on the subject?

QUESTION:  Oh, sorry.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Sure.   Yeah.

QUESTION:  The progress that you see in terms of the Palestinians creating a better security atmosphere, does that extend to the Palestinian Authority taking some concrete steps to dismantle terrorist groups in the region and if so, what evidence would you cite for the progress?

MR. MCCORMACK:  We have made very clear that the Palestinian Authority needs to address the issue of terrorist groups.  They understand that this is an issue for them.  This is an obligation for them under the roadmap.  But they understand that this is a challenge.  They know the challenge is before them and we expect them to make progress in that regard.  This issue frequently comes up with respect to the issue of elections.  Secretary Rice has made very clear what our views are on that and we expect them to live up to their obligations.

QUESTION:  Okay.  Because you have just said everyday brings greater and greater progress or evidence of it and I wondered if it extended to that realm.

MR. MCCORMACK:  What I was talking about in terms of Steve's --

QUESTION:  (Inaudible) border crossing.

MR. MCCORMACK:  -- Steve's question was the border crossing and addressing issues related to -- an atmosphere in Gaza that is calm, that is stable and that is peaceful.

QUESTION:  Can we go to Ukraine?

MR. MCCORMACK:  Oh, yes, to Ukraine.

QUESTION:  Okay.  Yeah, well, President Yushchenko made peace apparently with his former (inaudible) opponent.

MR. MCCORMACK:  I believe you're referring to the appointment of a new Prime Minister, Prime Minister Yekhanurov, and we congratulate the Prime Minister on his confirmation.  We look forward to working with him and to working with his cabinet, as we strengthen bilateral relations between the U.S. and the Ukraine.  We're also ready to assist the new government in advancing its goals of consolidating and expanding reforms, particularly in the economic sphere and integrating into the Euro-Atlantic structures.

I think what we have seen unfold in Ukraine is the democratic process at work.  This process is not always straight and true.  Sometimes there are disagreements.  But what's important is that any disagreements that there are in the process are resolved in accordance with the constitution and with laws, applicable laws, as well as in a peaceful manner.  And I think that that's what we have seen in Ukraine.  And we look forward to working with the Ukrainian Government as they consolidate their gains under a new democratic government.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Just one question on the UN.  Kofi Annan's meeting with the Secretary now.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Right, they're having lunch.

QUESTION:  Do you have anything on the agenda and are you going to give a readout afterwards?

MR. MCCORMACK:  I do think I'll have a readout for you.  I know what the --certainly the Secretary is ready to talk about whatever is on Secretary General Annan's mind, but I think in general what they will talk about is the importance of -- now that we have an Outcome Document from the High Level Event in which that you have essentially a framework, a way forward for reforms at the UN, you know, outlined several principles.  And I think what they are going to talk about is how to move forward on that now.  How do you translate principle into concrete results?

For example, on the formation of the Human Rights Council, that's one example.  Another example is on UN management reforms.  So I think they're going to be talking about what, you know, the way forward on these issues.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:07 p.m.)

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)