25 September 2003
Security Council Members Moving Toward Agreement on Iraq
Secretary Powell comments after P-5 luncheon
United Nations -- The five permanent members of the Security Council are "seeing some convergence of view with respect to a new resolution" on Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell said September 25.
Talking with journalists after a meeting of the five, the secretary of state said that the group will be "working on the language in the days ahead that tries to capture as much of that convergence as possible and to see what we are able to come to agreement on."
The permanent members -- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- hold veto power on the 15-member Security Council. During the opening of the General Assembly each year they hold a special luncheon meeting with Secretary General Kofi Annan.
During the luncheon meeting the group also discussed the Middle East, Liberia, and HIV/AIDS.
The secretary general reported that "everything seems to be on track" for the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers to take over from the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) troops in Liberia October 1, Powell said.
Following is a transcript of the secretary's remarks:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman (New York, New York)
Remarks
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell After UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Luncheon for P-5 Members
September 25, 2003
United Nations Headquarters
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We just finished our annual P-5 luncheon with the Secretary General and I am pleased to give you a brief report on the items of discussion. As you expect, we did talk about Iraq, as we have been all week long, and I am pleased and I think my colleagues in the P-5 are pleased that we are seeing some convergence of views with respect to a new resolution, and we will be working on language in the days ahead that tries to capture as much of that convergence as possible, and to see what we are able to come to agreement on.
We also had a good discussion on the role of the Secretary General and his representative in the political process in Iraq and how it should be captured in a resolution, and reference was made to the report that the Secretary General gave to the Security Council earlier in the summer which lays out some responsibilities that could be taken on by the Secretary General. And, of course, 1483 also laid out some responsibilities for the Secretary General and his representative.
We also talked about the Middle East, and, as you know, there will be a Quartet meeting tomorrow. We believe firmly in the concept of the roadmap, and it is still there, but we are waiting for the Palestinian side to determine the makeup of its new government so that we have a partner that we can work with.
So we will review the situation tomorrow and you will hear a statement from the Quartet after our meeting tomorrow.
We took note of the situation in Liberia and pleased that we were able to get ECOWAS in and ECOMIL forces from ECOWAS in. The United States was pleased to play a role in that by providing offshore capability and some on-the-ground capability for a period of time.
The Secretary General reported on the generation of a peacekeeping force to go in, and everything seems to be on track. And we believe the Liberian people now have a chance to build a better life for themselves through a new government coming in.
And then the final item we discussed was HIV/AIDS. As you know, there was a plenary session on it earlier this week that many of us spoke at. And the Secretary General encouraged all of us, and all the nations of the United Nations, to do as much as they can to deal with this deadly threat, this disease that is killing millions and millions of citizens and orphaning so many children.
And that was -- that's a brief summary of what we discussed at lunch.
Questions?
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, you met today with the Iraq Governing Council. Is there a convergence of views on a timetable? Are they working on a timetable? Do they take the same, to use the President's word, "unhurried" pace? Do they prefer an "unhurried" pace to make sure the democracy really works?
SECRETARY POWELL: We didn't specifically talk about a timetable in terms of weeks, months, or how many months. I think we did converge on the understanding that you did need a democratic political process that rests on a constitution and an election -- elections that flow from that constitution. And that's been a subject of some debate over the last week or so, but I think we all have a common understanding.
Remember that the resolution would invite the Governing Council to come up with a plan and a timetable. So I wasn't looking for a timetable today. Ambassador Bremer has suggested some timelines, and we will wait and see how the -- what the resolution says and how the Governing Council responds to the invitation that will be in the resolution. I am sure they're thinking about it, I'm sure they're working on it, but we didn't get into those details today, and it wouldn't have been appropriate.
QUESTION: Secretary Powell, in February 2001, you said that Saddam has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. What caused you to change your assessment?
SECRETARY POWELL: I didn't change my assessment. What I said was, at that time, three weeks into the Administration when I was trying to get sanctions retained, and we did succeed in getting sanctions retained, I made that observation. But you've said -- you will note that I did not say he didn't have weapons of mass destruction. And I think in that interview I also went on to say that it was important for us to keep the pressure on and for inspectors to be able to get back in and for sanctions to be kept in place. He was a threat then. The extent of his holdings were yet to be determined. It was early in the Administration. And, in fact, the matter was long before 9/11, so a lot changed between February 2001, but I don't find anything inconsistent between what I said then and what I said all along.
QUESTION: Can you respond to the Iranian Foreign Minister's remarks in The Washington Post today that he was ready to be quite transparent with regard to the nuclear program that had been of such concern?
SECRETARY POWELL: They intend to be quite transparent?
QUESTION: That's the quote in The Washington --
SECRETARY POWELL: I can be nothing but pleased if that's what they intend to be and if that's what they actually do.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, the Iraqis leaders, they have told us here in New York that they would like to take over the security arrangements --
SECRETARY POWELL: I'm sorry. Start --
QUESTION: The Iraqi leaders from the interim council, they have told us they would like to take over the security arrangements in Iraq. In their meeting in Salahaddin they came to that conclusion. They would like you to go back to basics and leave the security arrangement to the people who know it best, the Iraqis themselves.
Is there anything wrong with that?
SECRETARY POWELL: We would, of course, welcome Iraqis taking over all of the security responsibilities. But an intention to take over those responsibilities without the capability of taking them over doesn't take you anywhere. So until we build up the Iraqi national police force and the Iraqi national army and the civil defense forces that are being created, the bulk of the security responsibilities will rest on the coalition forces.
But we are anxious to see other nations join in the stabilization force. And Ambassador Bremer and our commanders are working very hard, and a lot of work has been done in the last two days to accelerate the creation of national police forces as well as the national army.
You'll have to forgive me. I have to get to my next meeting.
(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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