05 September 2003
U.S. Proposal Aims at Maximum World Participation in Iraq
NSC spokesman discusses foreign policy issues with media
Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte are working with colleagues at the United Nations on a U.S. draft resolution on Iraq "that builds on the progress that has already been made based on U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483," National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters September 4 at a briefing at the State Department's Foreign Press Center in Washington.
Those discussions, he said, "have one goal in mind, and that is to get the maximum possible participation to the maximum possible extent from the greatest number of countries around the world. There's enough to do in Iraq for a number of countries in the international community and we encourage everybody to participate."
Each country will decide for itself -- based on any number of factors that they themselves consider important -- what kind of contribution to make, the National Security Council spokesman said.
There are "many different ways for countries all around the world to make contributions to the situation in Iraq," he said, "not only on the security front, but the reconstruction front, as well as the political front. And we are going to not only work through international organizations such as the U.N., the IMF and the World Bank, but we're also going to be talking to individual countries about what contributions they can make to Iraq."
The U.S. draft resolution, McCormack said, "is aimed at maximizing the contributions from the international community to help the people of Iraq build a better future for themselves. That's what this effort is about. And we look forward to good and productive discussions up at the Security Council with all of our colleagues on the Security Council, as well as other interested countries on this issue."
The ultimate goal that the international community shares, McCormack said, is establishing the Iraqis' sovereignty over, and responsibility for, their own affairs in their own country.
"And we're seeing, each day, Iraqis take more and more responsibility for their own affairs, for the daily life in Iraq, and for what their future is going to look like,," he said.
On the Israeli-Palestinian situation, McCormack said that U.S. Ambassador John Wolf "is on the ground working both with the Israel Government and the Palestinians, and we're urging all sides to think of ways and work towards that point where we were just recently -- where they were working together.
"We have always reminded all parties that they have responsibilities in this regard; not only the Israel government to ease the plight of the Palestine people and take those concrete steps which do that, but also we have reminded the Palestinian Authority that they must take steps to dismantle terror organizations. And not only the Palestinian Authority has responsibilities in this regard, but also Arab States and the European States that are part of the Quartet. They must take steps to work to dismantle terror groups.
"So all parties have responsibilities in this process and we are deeply involved and deeply committed to this process, but ultimately, it is the parties most directly involved that must take the steps in order to set themselves on that pathway to peace."
McCormack was questioned about the recent six-party talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear program and about the issue of democratic, constitutional and peaceful change in Venezuela.
He began the briefing with a statement on the September 4 international meeting in Paris to discuss an initiative to combat proliferation of the spread of weapons of mass destruction and technologies, as well as materials that go into making those weapons. He called the Security Proliferation Initiative "a truly important" development.
Following is a transcript of the briefing:
(begin transcript)
U.S. State Department
Foreign Press Center Briefing
Sean McCormack, Spokesman, National Security Council
Washington, DC September 4, 2003
2:00 P.M. EDT
MR. DENIG: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Washington Foreign Press Center. Now that the long summer is over and we've started into the fall, we're looking forward to starting up some of our regular series of briefings. And one of those are the regular series that we enjoyed earlier this year with Sean McCormack, the Spokesman from the National Security Council, so we're delighted to welcome Sean again to our podium for a briefing on U.S. Foreign Policy.
Sean will have an opening statement to make and after that will be glad to take your questions.
Sean.
MR. McCORMACK: Thanks, Paul. First of all, let me say how great it is to be back here and talking to the foreign press. I realize that I've been away for a few months, but I look forward to making this a regular appointment. I look forward to talking to you about all the foreign policy issues that are ahead of us in the coming year.
I'd just like to briefly draw your attention to something happened in Paris today. And there was a meeting of countries which are working on something called the Proliferation Security Initiative.
A group of countries came together in Paris today and agreed on a set of principles that would guide the evolution of the Proliferation Security Initiative and its activities. This is an initiative that is designed to leverage existing authorities and existing abilities from a group of countries around the world in order to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction and technologies, as well as materials that go into making those weapons of mass destruction.
This is a truly important initiative and we would like to thank our hosts, the French Government, for hosting this meeting. And I believe there are some press statements coming out of Paris as well as a briefing by Under Secretary John Bolton that took place today in Paris.
So I would just like to begin by drawing your attention to that important initiative and you'll be hearing more about the Proliferation Security Initiative in the months ahead. Probably the next thing you'll hear about it is an exercise off in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Australia, which I think has been previously reported.
With that, I'd be happy to take your questions.
MR. DENIG: Let me remind you, please, to use the microphone and identify yourself and your news organization. Let's start in the back row there, please, today.
QUESTION: Thank you. Andrey Surzhanski, ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia. Mr. McCormack, Russian Defense Minister Mr. Ivanov said today that he didn't rule out the possibility of sending Russian troops to Iraq under UN leadership, depending on what kind of resolution we're going to have in the end; and apparently the same statement has been made by Russian President Putin a few days ago.
Do you welcome these statements? And is it safe to say that the positions of the United States and Russia are much closer now than those between the United States and France and Germany? Thank you.
MR. McCORMACK: Well, the statements by Sergei Ivanov pertain to a resolution that we are going to be discussing with our colleagues and the Security Council up in New York. We have a few informal discussions that have been going on for many weeks on this issue, and I expect that those discussions are going to be continuing in the days and weeks ahead.
We've taken note of the comments from Minister Ivanov, and we believe those are constructive comments and we look forward to working not only with the Russian Government, but the French Government and the German Government, as well as other members of the Security Council on this resolution.
I think what we all have to keep in mind is that this resolution is aimed at maximizing the contributions from the international community to help the people of Iraq build a better future for themselves. That's what this effort is about. And we look forward to good and productive discussions up at the Security Council with all of our colleagues on the Security Council, as well as other interested countries on this issue.
QUESTION: Reha Atasagan from Turkish Television, Ankara. Mr. McCormack, the foreign minister leader of the Iraqi Governing Council Mr. Hosyar Zebari said that they wouldn't want Turkish troops in Iraq. Can you comment on that? Does he -- speaking as a foreign minister, now, that he is the foreign minister?
MR. McCORMACK: Well, I have not seen his comments. I think that there are many different ways for countries all around the world to make contributions to the situation in Iraq, not only on the security front, but the reconstruction front, as well as the political front. And we are going to not only work through international organizations such as the UN, the IMF and the World Bank, but we're also going to be talking to individual countries about what contributions they can make to Iraq.
There's certainly more than enough to do, and we will certainly be in touch with the Turkish Government about their willingness and their ability to contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq. And I would also note that we're going to be having a donors conference that is coming up in the near future in October. So I think there will be plenty of opportunities for countries to make many different kinds of contributions to Iraq.
QUESTION: A follow-up. You know, his remarks came at a time when the Turkish and American military are having talks in Ankara today; and they made very clear that they don't want Iraq -- Turkish troops in Iraq, that could cause problems.
MR. McCORMACK: Like I said, I have not had an opportunity to see his remarks, but I would reiterate that there are a variety of different ways that countries all around the world, and organizations, international organizations, can make contributions to the reconstruction of Iraq.
QUESTION: Thank you. Sonia Schott, Globovision, Venezuela. Mr. McCormack, the U.S. position on the Recall Referendum in Venezuela, the U.S. Administration already offers technical support to record referendum in Venezuela, but there is still not any schedule on this issue. And I just want to know, this will be in cooperation with the OAS? What is the U.S. position on that? Thank you.
MR. McCORMACK: Well, we have been working quite closely with the Organization of American States on the issue of democratic, constitutional and peaceful change in Venezuela, should that be what the people of Venezuela choose. It's something that we have been engaged with on the diplomatic level both in Venezuela as well as through the Organization of American States. As far as the details of what assistance might be offered, I would have to refer you over the OAS or the State Department to offer you any further details on that.
QUESTION: Gil Tamary, Israeli TV, Channel 10. Mr. McCormack, I would like to know if you expect right now Israel to do anything, any concrete moves on the ground, in order to help Abu Mazen to survive politically, and also, if you have any position regarding the idea to throw Arafat out of the Territories?
MR. McCORMACK: Well, the second question I'll try to answer first.
You know, our position with respect to that issues is unchanged and well understood. We have spoken to it many times, many times in the past.
One thing that we have spoken about recently with respect to Yasser Arafat -- people have taken note of Secretary Powell's comments most recently -- is that Yasser Arafat continues to be an obstacle to peace in the Middle East, and he continues to be an obstacle for the aspirations of the Palestine people for a better way of life.
We believe that the only pathway to peace is through a political solution and through the two parties working together to resolve issues between them.
We saw some progress in recent months after the Aqaba meeting on this front and we are working very hard, not only with the Israeli side, but the Palestine side, as well as other parties in the region who have responsibilities in this regard, to ensure that Israelis and Palestinians can get back to the point where they were working together to resolve issues between them. Because that is truly the only way that both Israel and the Palestine people will realize a better way of life, a more peaceful, secure way of life where they can live side by side in two states.
QUESTION: Do you expect to end concrete steps right now?
MR. McCORMACK: Ambassador Wolf is on the ground working both with the Israel Government and the Palestinians, and we're urging all sides to think of ways and work towards that point where we were just recently -- where they were working together.
We have always reminded all parties that they have responsibilities in this regard; not only the Israel Government to ease the plight of the Palestine people and take those concrete steps which do that, but also we have reminded the Palestinian Authority that they must take steps to dismantle terror organizations. And not only the Palestinian Authority has responsibilities in this regard, but also Arab States and the European States that are part of the Quartet. They must take steps to work to dismantle terror groups.
So all parties have responsibilities in this process and we are deeply involved and deeply committed to this process, but ultimately, it is the parties most directly involved that must take the steps in order to set themselves on that pathway to peace.
QUESTION: My name is Khaled Dawoud from Egypt's Al Akhram newspaper. I have a question on Iraq and another on Palestine.
Concerning Iraq, many people and countries are wondering what kind of political authority are you willing to give the United Command under the UN authority even if the commander will be an American, just like, what's your thinking about this issue?
And on the issue of the Palestinians, in the Arab world there is a feeling that you're being too harsh on the Palestinians and very soft on Sharon because he's also not implemented his part of the deal concerning removing outposts, concerning the settlements, concerning killing of, you know, Hamas militants. So there is a feeling of inequality in this regard, so I wonder if you could address that? Thank you.
MR. McCORMACK: On the first part of your question on Iraq, was that talking about the political process or just the multinational force?
QUESTION: No, the political -- I mean, the demand by the rest of the international community to have a role in the political and security and all aspects of Iraq. I mean, what's your vision on that?
MR. McCORMACK: Well, I guess, as you've heard from Secretary Powell and others, actually, there is an international role and many states have decided to participate in the reconstruction of Iraq, as well as in security and stabilizing Iraq. You have more than 30 countries now that are participating with Coalition Forces in working to make Iraq a more secure, peaceful and stable environment so the Iraqi people can realize the benefits of freedom and reconstructing their country.
The UN, for example, has played a vital role in the reconstruction as well as the political process. Sergio de Mello played an absolutely vital and important role in that process that led to the formation of the Iraqi Governing Council.
That is certainly an important step towards the ultimate goal that all the international community shares, and that is Iraqi sovereignty and responsibility for their own affairs in their own country.
In that regard, I think we have seen a number of positive signs with the Iraqi Governing Council appointing ministers to run Iraqi cabinet ministries. One example I would point you to is the Iraqi Oil Ministry where they've made great progress in getting the Iraqi oil industry back up and running -- not quite to the point where, I think, they would want it to be, or where the world sees where it could be, but they have made great progress in that regard and that's an example of Iraqis running and taking responsibility and having authority for their own affairs. And that's very important.
Another example is the Iraqi Governing Council appointing a group which is now working on setting out the rules for an Iraqi Constitutional Convention where Iraqis would come together to write their own constitution, write a new constitution, that they would vote on and would ultimately lead to elections.
So there already is an important international component to the reconstruction efforts in Iraq, but I would just make one point, and that is that there's a lot of talk about who will play what role from the international community in Iraq. And everybody has to remember what is most important is that the Iraqi people have the most important role in defining and determining what their future is going to be.
And we're seeing, each day, Iraqis take more and more responsibility for their own affairs, for the daily life in Iraq, and for what their future is going to look like. And ultimately, I think that that is what the vision is going to be -- that that is the vision that everybody in the international community shares.
Now, Secretary Powell and Ambassador Negroponte are going to be working with colleagues up at the United Nations so that we can talk about a new resolution that builds on the progress that has already been made based on UN Security Council Resolution 1483. And these discussions have one goal in mind, and that is to get the maximum possible participation to the maximum possible extent from the greatest number of countries around the world. There's enough to do in Iraq for a number of countries in the international community and we encourage everybody to participate.
Now, on your second question about the Israeli Government and Prime Minister Sharon, I think what we have reminded all the parties in this process a number of times that what they need to concentrate on is more what they're doing; not so much what the other guy is doing. In the past we've seen a lot of mutual recriminations and finger-pointing, "Well, we can't do X because the other guy hasn't done Y."
What we're encouraging everybody to do is concentrate on what you need to do. Concentrate on the important task before you. And we believe that that's one way that all parties can make more progress towards their ultimate shared goal as expressed at the Aqaba Summit.
QUESTION: Thank you. Andrew Sawka from Nippon Television. Sir, on the negotiations with North Korea, there has been some criticism of the U.S. for being overly hard-line in its stance, for refusing to make concessions. My question is simply, is the U.S. prepared to offer any concessions, to be more flexible?
And along the lines of the concessions I was especially wondering if something along the lines of what Secretary Powell had previously talked about, in other words, some sort of written, legally non-binding security assurance. Is that idea completely out the window or could it be rejuvenated?
MR. McCORMACK: On that point, I think we have made quite clear that we have no intention of invading North Korea or attacking North Korea, and I think that the North Koreans and the world have heard those assurances not only from Secretary Powell, but most importantly, from President Bush. So I think that those guarantees should be sufficient for the North Korean Government to understand that we have no intention of attacking or invading North Korea.
Secretary Powell has previously talked about written security assurances. That's something that at this point in time, I don't know that anybody is working on that issue, but again, we think that North Korea should take as sufficient President Bush's assurances at this time.
In terms of U.S. concessions, the discussions should not be about what parties other than North Korea should be willing to do. North Korea has isolated itself from the rest of the world. It has made itself an outcast through its development of nuclear weapons, not only through a plutonium-based program, but, as we found out a year ago, through a secret, highly enriched uranium-based program.
We recently had very good discussions -- a good set of talks in Beijing -- multilateral talks. And what North Korea heard from all the other parties, the other five parties involved in those discussions is that they must irreversibly, transparently, and irrevocably dismantle their nuclear weapons program. And I think that that's real progress -- they are hearing that from all the countries in the region.
And I think that the message that is starting to get through is that this is not a U.S.-North Korean problem. This is a regional problem. And it's a problem for the rest of the world, as well. Because I don't think that there are any countries, any of North Korea's neighbors, that want to see a nuclearized Korean Peninsula. And that is the goal that we're working for, a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. And the international community is united in that regard.
QUESTION: The U.S., for its part, is refusing, then, to make concessions?
MR. McCORMACK: I didn't say that. We look forward to possibly having more talks as a follow-on to Beijing. And any sort of discussions we'll have will in private through diplomatic channels and not necessarily from a podium.
QUESTION: Thank you. I'm Waltraud Kaserer from the German Sunday paper Welt am Sonntag. I wanted to ask, Condoleezza Rice said a few months ago the Germans should be ignored, the French should be punished and the Russians should be forgiven. So how is this situation right now? And my second question is, does the U.S. want to have German troops in Iraq? If yes or no, what else does the U.S. want the Germans to do in Iraq?
MR. McCORMACK: I've seen that report in a few places -- that quote attributed to Dr. Rice: I know that I've never heard her say that, and I'm not sure that anybody else has heard her say that, which leads me to believe that maybe she didn't say it, and somebody attributed it to her without asking her about it.
As for what Germany might contribute in Iraq, as I said in answer to a previous question, there are a number of different areas in which Germany can contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq and helping the Iraqi people build a better future for themselves.
And Secretary Powell has been in contact with Foreign Minister Fischer and Ambassador Negroponte has been in touch with his counterpart up in New York. And we look forward to good, fruitful discussions that, hopefully, will yield a good result in this regard.
QUESTION: What about troops?
MR. McCORMACK: Troops? Again, what kind of contribution each country decides to make is going to be up to them. They are going to have to make those decisions based on any number of factors that they, themselves, consider important. But what we would, what we would encourage all the countries to do is, regardless of what kind of contribution they're going to make, make a contribution.
QUESTION: Mathia Javig, Radio Varda. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday that U.S. is seeking a wider international participation for stabilizing Iraq. Does this include countries like Iran?
MR. McCORMACK: I don't know that Secretary Powell has had any discussions with anybody with respect to an Iranian contribution. Now, Iran and Iraq, certainly, we all know that they're neighbors. And just as Iran is a neighbor of Afghanistan, we have encouraged Iran, through a variety of different channels, and most importantly through public channels, to play a constructive role with respect to their neighbors. We would expect that Iran and Iraq, and Iran and Afghanistan have open, transparent relations, and government-to-government relations. And that's certainly what we would expect, and that's what we would encourage. And I think that that's what the world expects.
Yeah, go ahead, one more.
QUESTION: What's the White House reaction toward the death of the prominent Shia leader, Ayatollah Hakim?
MR. McCORMACK: This is the bombing in Najaf?
President Bush on last Friday issued a statement. This was certainly a grievous, tragic event for the Shiite community in Iraq, as well as for Ayatollah's family. And we certainly condemn all acts of terrorism, but I would let President Bush's statement speak for itself.
QUESTION: Sean, Raghubir Goyal, Globe and Asia Today. According to the press reports, at least 25 military officers are under investigation by the Pakistani military, or Pakistani Government, for their alleged involvement with al-Qaidas and Taliban in Afghanistan. And now some people are saying, Afghanis, that U.S. is forgetting Afghanistan because of Iraq and other matters because Talibans are, again, back in Afghanistan, fighting, not in the same way, but still, Afghanis are under attack by the Taliban and al-Qaidas.
And number two, on Burma, if you make some statements please that Burmese leader, now they have a new Prime Minister, but things are not changed. And number two, the democratically elected leaders still is -- under house arrest, or hunger strike -- we don't know
-- outside world doesn't know really where she is, what she's doing, whether she's in jail, or in hospital, or on hunger strike. So where do we stand on that issue?
MR. McCORMACK: On the last, we've made quite clear with respect to Aung San Suu Kyi, what we expect -- demand -- from the government there. I don't believe that we have seen any recent movement in fulfilling those demands, which I believe the entire international community shares. So I think that we certainly expect them to act.
On your first question about Pakistan officers under investigation, I don't have any information on that. I think that's an internal Pakistani matter.
With respect to Afghanistan, we certainly have not forgotten about Afghanistan. There may not be much reporting about it through the international press corps or our domestic press. But we have had a consistent number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, hunting down, fighting the Taliban and terrorists there, and now to work with a new Afghan army and fighting those terrorists and bringing them to justice. I've seen recent reports about joint operations between a new Afghan Army and the U.S. Army.
And people have to stop and think about that for a second. You now have, what, a year, a little over a year and a half later, U.S. forces working together with an Afghan national army. That's extraordinary progress in just a year and a half. And we expect to see more of that progress.
That's not to say that the Taliban and other terrorists are not determined to try to reverse that progress. As a matter of fact, it makes sense from their perspective to fight that kind of progress because that kind of progressing in rebuilding countries like Afghanistan, like Iraq, are precisely the kind of things that are anathema to the terrorist creed. They want to take the world back to the Stone Age. And progress in bringing freedom and a better life to peoples in these countries and around the world is something that they're fighting against.
QUESTION: Samir Nadir, Radio Sawa. The European Union announced last Thursday that they are working on preparing to hold a meeting for the Quartet on the Middle East in New York during the middle of this month. Is the U.S. encouraging to have this meeting, and what do you expect to come out of it? And second, do you know the date when the President will address the UN General Assembly?
MR. McCORMACK: We'll have more for you on the President's travel up to New York for the General Assembly in the coming weeks.
As for the Quartet meeting, the State Department and Secretary Powell are working very closely, have been in nearly constant communication with members of the Quartet on a variety of different issues, including Middle East peace. So it's something that they're always working on it. There's never really any sort of timeline. Secretary Powell is always talking to the members of the EU. He had Foreign Minister Frattini over to the State Department today. They had a good discussion, I understand. He's on the phone with Secretary General Annan very often on the Middle East as well as other matters. And he's also often in contact with his counterparts from Arab states, as well. So this is something we're always working on, and I expect that at future meetings we'll have good discussions.
QUESTION: Lambros Papantoniou, Eleftheros Typos, Greek Daily, Athens. Mr. McCormack, may we have your comments on the recent proposal for a creation of a EU military headquarters in Brussels, functioning totally independent from NATO?
MR. McCORMACK: That one, I'm going to have to get back to you with an answer. I don't any information on that.
QUESTION: Riccardi, Italian News Agency ANSA. On Iraq, what specific role do you see for the European Union? Only financing, or do you see more things?
MR. McCORMACK: Again, as with individual states, the European Union is going to have to decide as a collective how it wishes to participate.
I think that they have spoken primarily about making monetary contributions to reconstruction efforts, but the European Union also has a great deal of expertise in a number of different areas and it would be, I think, up to the European Union and its member-states to decide precisely how they plan to contribute or would like to contribute to reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
QUESTION: Hasan Hazar, Turkiye Daily. Just to clarify, what should the United States do to improve the relations between Turkey and Iraqi-Kurdish groups?
MR. McCORMACK: Well, I guess the one thing I would point out is that it would now be working between the Iraqi Governing Council and Turkish authorities. That is the level at which any discussions should take place in conjunction with Ambassador Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority.
It's very important, and I think the world agrees on a unified Iraq with territorial integrity. And right now, what we're working to do is to form an Iraqi Government that is representative of all the regions of Iraq, all the ethnic and religious groups of Iraq. So that's really the framework that people should be thinking in -- not the old relationships, but the new relationships between an Iraqi Governing Council and then a future Iraqi Government and the Turkish Government.
QUESTION: Thank you very much. My name is Betty Brannan from La Prensa of Panama. I have a question about free trade between the United States and Panama.
When President Moscoso met with President Bush in June, she left saying that she had a commitment from the United States to look at negotiations between the two countries and free trade. But the White House has been silent since then, and yesterday President Bush spoke of free trade in the hemisphere and did not mention Panama.
That, to me, read in Panama as either President Moscoso misstated the commitment she has, or the White House is backtracking. I wonder if you can help us clear that up?
And also, I must ask you one more time, when you look -- Panama was one of the countries that was Coalition of the Willing, part of the Coalition of the willing. And when you look at a little country like Panama, it has no army, no resources, and very little expertise to contribute. I ask what are you looking for from a country like Panama in terms of supporting the Coalition?
MR. McCORMACK: On the first part of your question, members of the U.S. Trade Representative's Office, as well as the State Department, are always in contact with members of Panamanian Government officials as well as other officials from the region on the issue of free trade. It's important. It's one of President Bush's priorities, and that is to expand free trade and democracy throughout the Hemisphere. So just because you don't necessarily see things coming out of the White House doesn't mean there's not a lot going on behind the scenes.
In terms of contributions to Iraq, again, that's for every country to decide for themselves. And, you know, it's our belief that every country does have something to contribute. Each country has something that they do very well. Or they may have some particular expertise and that expertise is, most likely, needed in Iraq.
So we would welcome contributions of any stripe.
QUESTION: Hi. Khaled Abdel-Kareem with Middle East News Agency, MENA. My first question is about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It's about Arafat. You just repeated what Secretary Powell said, and other officials, that he is an obstacle to peace. Can you give us, like four or five things that Arafat has been doing or has not been doing over the part four weeks, which would make him an obstacle to peace? Or it's just a general statement, a foregone conclusion? This is first.
The second is about follow-up on Iran. You said that every country, you just said, "Every country has its own kind of expertise that it can provide to the process." Would you block, I mean, forces from Iran because you want them to play a constructive role? I mean they are Iraq's first-door neighbors.
Would you welcome that? Do you have any problem, or you just do not expect that to happen? Thank you.
MR. McCormack: Well, on that question I'm not aware of any sort of proposal to have Iranian forces in Iraq so I don't think it's really an issue that's a topic for discussion at the moment. Again, I think that what the Iranian Government should concentrate on is having open and transparent relations with its neighbors.
In terms of your first question, let me just point to what Prime Minister Abbas, himself, has said today in the Palestinian Legislative Council. He has spoken out for a unified security force under a unified command. And previously, Prime Minister Abbas has talked about Yasser Arafat as being an obstacle to realizing that goal. And I think Mr. Dahlan has talked about Mr. Arafat as an obstacle to that goal, as well.
So, again, it's not for me to give examples. I think that there everybody understands and understands the history involved going back many years with respect to Mr. Arafat. And I think the easiest thing to do is just cite what the Palestinian Government has said about his actions to thwart moving down the road to peace.
QUESTION: I'm sorry. So it's just about the unified force, or do you have other things? Just over the past four weeks, I'm not talking about his history -- just the past four weeks.
MR. McCORMACK: I think that's a recent example. That's as of today.
QUESTION: So it's just one example?
MR. McCORMACK: Right. That's one example.
QUESTION: My name is Said Arikat from Al-Quds newspaper. Just to follow up on that, Mr. Abbas today seemed to put the blame completely for the breakdown of the truce on the Israelis, and he's saying that they intent on -- to break down the truce, they continued with their assassination and so on, and he seems to be quite disappointed with America not being able to deliver on some of the promises they gave him such as, you know, leaning on Israel to stop the settlements and so on. So how do you reconcile what you said with this -- with his statement, actually? And concerning the statement that Mofaz gave to the defense radio yesterday about perhaps they will throw Arafat out. Would you look the other way if they did that? Thank you.
MR. McCORMACK: We've made our views known. This issue has come up I don't know how many times over the past few years I've been dealing with it. Our answer is unchanged on that topic.
In terms of what all the parties need to do in the Middle East to help the Palestine people and the Israel people realize the goals that they have both agreed to at the Aqaba Summit, everybody has responsibilities.
We have spoken out publicly and quite clearly about the responsibilities of all the parties. We have spoken to them in private about what their responsibilities are, and we think that it's important for each of the parties to focus on what they need to do. And we think that that is the best way to move this process forward.
Again, I would reiterate we're deeply committed to this process. We're deeply involved in this process, but, ultimately, it is up to the parties to take the difficult steps, make the hard decisions, take the tough actions that will move them down the pathway to peace.
QUESTION: Just a follow-up. Will there, you know, will the Administration get to a point where they say, "We can't do anything. We're just going to walk away from the roadmap?"
MR. McCORMACK: Again, we think that the roadmap lays out a pathway for both of the parties. We have continued to work with the parties to get them to the point where they can start talking about the issues in the roadmap so they can start resolving those issues.
We think it's very important to continue doing so. We're involved in that process. But ultimately, it is up to the parties to make those decisions and take those steps.
QUESTION: El Bashir, Sudan-U.S. News. The two parties of the Sudanese peace negotiations claim that 80 percent of the problems have been solved, and admittedly the United States has been constructively involved in this. Do you think that at any time now or in the future the U.S. will raise this involvement to invite Garang and Bashir to come here to finish the thing?
It seem like it's almost, but still they are -- both of them are bickering. So do you think you can do anything more in this regard? Thank you.
MR. McCORMACK: I am not aware of any proposal of the sort at this time, but certainly we have been working very hard on the issue of Sudan and trying to help the parties reach an accommodation to bring peace to that troubled land. Senator Danforth has been working very hard in this regard, and he continues to do so. But nobody has made me aware of any such proposal at this point.
QUESTION: Rob Gentry, TV Asahi. Sorry. I lost my voice last weekend. Just to follow up on the North Korea talks. You said -- I believe you mentioned you look forward to the possibility of having more talks. There's some wire reports out now that North Korea has indicated to, I believe, the Chinese and the South Koreans that they would be interested.
Can you confirm that they've told you or any of the other parties that they will actually participate in a further round of talks?
MR. McCORMACK: As of this morning, I don't think that we had heard directly or indirectly from the North Koreans about any decision to participate in a next round of talks. We would certainly encourage a next round of talks, but I don't think we have heard anything definitive at this point.
MR. DENIG: Thank you very much, Sean. Appreciate it.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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