30 April 2004
Powell, Denmark's Moeller Reaffirm Steadfastness in Iraq
Joint briefing in Copenhagen April 29 with Danish Foreign Minister
Secretary Of State Colin Powell and Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller reaffirmed the determination of the United States and Denmark to give the Iraqi people a better life than they had under Saddam Hussein.
"I am especially pleased at the steadfastness that Denmark has shown toward the effort in Iraq, Powell said in remarks April 30 after meeting with Moeller at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen.
"We are facing some tough days right now, but we will prevail over these tough days," he said, adding that "we are determined to give the Iraqi people a better life than the life they had under Saddam Hussein. And I want to thank Denmark for that steadfastness, for not blinking and being prepared to stay with the challenge that is ahead of us. And also for the support that they have provided to us in Afghanistan."
Asked whether NATO might participate in Iraq, Powell noted that "now some 16 of the 26 nations in NATO are in Iraq in some capacity.... There might be more nations that are able to contribute, if we have a UN resolution and once sovereignty is returned. Or the alliance as an alliance, in the form of a headquarters, if not with a large number of additional troops, might be able to find a role for itself in Iraq."
In his opening remarks, Moeller said, "We have reiterated that our intention is to stay until the job is done, that we have cooperation and we find it necessary to give freedom and progress to the Iraqi people."
Asked the purpose of his visit to Denmark, Powell said he had come simply "as a friend" and because no American Secretary of State had visited Denmark since 1991.
Except for one question concerning European Union enlargement, all of the questions posed to Powell and Moeller focused on Iraq.
Following is the State Department transcript:
(begin transcript)
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
April 30, 2004
REMARKS BY SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN L. POWELL,
AND DANISH FOREIGN MINISTER PER STIG MOELLER
AFTER THEIR MEETING
April 29, 2004
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Copenhagen, Denmark
FOREIGN MINISTER MOELLER: I welcome the press here, but first of all I welcome Secretary Powell here in Copenhagen, and I appreciate very much, as you know, your very prompt, and surprisingly prompt, response to my invitation the other day in Washington.
We had a new, good discussion here in Copenhagen today about the main topics. On Iraq, we have reiterated that our intention is to stay until the job is done, that we have cooperation and we find it necessary to give freedom and progress to the Iraqi people. We also discussed the Middle East again, and there it is very important for us that the final stages will be resolved in the negotiations, so that we get the two states after a negotiated peace.
We have, Denmark and the United States, an excellent bilateral relationship. We have the same background, we have the same aims for the future: developing democracy, safeguarding freedom, and spreading freedom to the peoples of the world. Democracy, human rights and rule of law are the basis of our societies and are the things we think will be best for the world.
We see eye-to-eye on many things, and we remain in agreement on the necessity of having a determined stand in Iraq. It is not acceptable that people who will destroy the path, the way, towards democracy will carry the day. What we will see and what we will continue to see, will be forces who will try to prevent -- also after United Nations authorities after the first of July and Iraqi authorities the first of July -- you will see people trying to prevent the course towards democracy. And that is why we have to stay. There is no contradiction between the United States and Denmark in this matter. When we disagree, then we say it frankly, but we don't disagree here. We disagree on other topics, but not here. And when we do it, we have a free and frank discussion.
It is very important that we have a strong transatlantic relationship, built upon a strong United States and a strong European identity. We have this with the NATO enlargement, and we have it with the enlargement of the European Union in a few days' time. I think that the two institutions, NATO and the European Union, will be able to spread progress to the world in cooperation with the United States.
Thank you very much, I will not take more of your time, I think you will have more questions for Colin than to me, so I will not take more time from you now. Thank you. The floor is yours, Colin.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much, Per Stig. It is a great pleasure to be here in Copenhagen, and thank you for receiving me on such short notice. It was Tuesday afternoon when I realized there was a window in the schedule, and it's something I've been wanting to do for a very long period of time. And so this whole trip was arranged on just about 48 hours notice. I had a wonderful morning, talking to a large group of students at his high school - interesting we decided to go to his high school.
(Laughter).
FOREIGN MINISTER MOELLER: A coincidence.
(Laughter).
SECRETARY POWELL: But it was a pleasure to spend time with the students, and I had a very nice audience with Her Majesty earlier, and I look forward to seeing the Prime Minister later.
As the Minister said, we see eye-to-eye on so many things, as should be the case between two nations that have been friends for such a long period of time and are so close to one another as a result of our shared values, our belief in democracy, and freedom, liberty and the triumph of the human spirit, and as members of a great alliance, founding members of a great alliance. So we should see things the same way. When disagreements do arise from time to time, as the Minister said, we deal with them candidly and openly as friends.
I am especially pleased at the steadfastness that Denmark has shown toward the effort in Iraq. We are facing some tough days right now, but we will prevail over these tough days. We will prevail, because we have the strength to prevail. We'll prevail because we are right. We will prevail because we are determined to give the Iraqi people a better life than the life they had under Saddam Hussein. And I want to thank Denmark for that steadfastness, for not blinking and being prepared to stay with the challenge that is ahead of us. And also for the support that they have provided to us in Afghanistan, as well. So, Mr. Minister, thank you for receiving me and thanks to you and the Danish people for being so steadfast in this time of challenge.
FOREIGN MINISTER MOELLER: Thank you, Colin. Now it's time for some questions.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, you are looking for more support, though, from other countries. Could you bring us up to date on the prospects of NATO as a unit, as an alliance, somehow encouraging other countries to contribute?
SECRETARY POWELL: We have discussed that and I discussed it yesterday in Berlin with some of my other colleagues. And in my meetings in NATO over the past year, we have raised the possibility of NATO playing a role as an alliance. As you know, now some 16 of the 26 nations in NATO are in Iraq in some capacity, and I am not sure that there is a great reservoir of troops left in NATO, that if you suddenly found the right key and opened up the door, all these troops would be available. But there might be more nations that are able to contribute, if we have a UN resolution and once sovereignty is returned. Or the alliance as an alliance, in the form of a headquarters, if not with a large number of additional troops, might be able to find a role for itself in Iraq. And we will be exploring this with my fellow ministers. Secretary Rumsfeld will be exploring it with his fellow defense ministers. And I am sure we will have a discussion with the heads of state in Istanbul in June.
I see no reason why NATO should not consider a role. And in our ministerial meetings, no such role has been ruled out by any of the representatives of the NATO nations.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, Spain has said that it will withdraw its troops from Iraq and that shakes, naturally, the coalition a bit. At the same time you see recent polls in the U.S. saying that the support for the U.S. engagement in Iraq is at an all time low. Does that worry you, what have you been doing wrong?
SECRETARY POWELL: I think what has happened is that we have run into several tough weeks and we acknowledge that. The resistance that we have seen in recent weeks has been determined resistance, and when you have that kind of situation, when there are casualties, lives are lost, and we have lost a lot wonderful soldiers over this past month, then people start to wonder about it and it's usually reflected in the polls. But I am also convinced that once we deal with this current difficult situation -- Fallujah and also then Najaf and that area -- people will recognize that we are on top of it and the polls will reflect that.
The American people understand what they have been asked to do. They fully understand the value of what we are doing: to bring democracy to a place that has not known it before and to make it an entirely new situation, create an entirely new situation in that part of the world. And I think they will support us in that effort. I regret that Spain felt it had to leave, but it's a democratic nation, a new Prime Minister, that was a judgment he made and it reflected his decision and the will of the people, and we respect that.
FOREIGN MINISTER MOELLER: If I may add before the next question, we are in there on the request of the United Nations in 1511, which urges - uses the word urges - all countries to come in and support and stabilize and rebuild Iraq. Until the job is done and we have a new, free government in Iraq, the job has not been done. And then you let not only Iraq down, but also the United Nations.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, why is it that you, as a representative of the most powerful nation in the world, wanted to visit this tiny, small country in the north of Europe? Is it because the elephant wants back-up from the mouse, or what do you want to convince us about right now?
SECRETARY POWELL: Denmark is a friend of the United States and it has been a friend for a long time. I am here at the invitation of my good friend, the Foreign Minister, and it's part of my job to go visit friends. But I have not come here to ask for anything or plead for anything.
It would have been the easiest thing in the world for me not to come to Denmark, because Denmark has spoken so clearly. They didn't need me to come here to say that we are in this for the whole ride, we are in this until we are successful. They did that weeks ago.
And so this is a steadfast friend and I am here as a friend, because I have not been here before as Secretary of State, and I was starting to feel a little guilty. So when my staff also told me that no American Secretary of State has been here since 1991, I said "That's it. We're going."
QUESTION: I would have asked kind of the same question. Do you feel Denmark should increase its involvement in Iraq?
SECRETARY POWELL: I think Denmark is making a significant contribution in Iraq with roughly 500 soldiers, and an additional contingent in Afghanistan, within a relatively small population, and a small force size. We're very appreciative of that. Anything else that Denmark should be able to do, that would be appreciated, as well. But I leave it up to the Danish government to make that judgment as to what they are able to do. We are just so appreciative of what they have done.
FOREIGN MINISTER MOELLER: If I may add, I do not think we are discussing now to have more Danish troops. The discussions and deliberations which are going on among the militaries in the United Kingdom and Denmark are about technical questions. There is no political decision. Before we make any political decisions, we have to look more into it, so we know more about what the United Kingdom proposes. And we have of course to talk to the political parties.
So what is at stake at the moment, are technical deliberations, at the technical level. There is no political discussion about it between the United Kingdom and Denmark. And there are no further troops foreseen. It is a technical problem which is on the agenda.
Any more questions?
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, could you talk a little bit about what you think you might have to do to try to prevent any further defections from the Coalition in Iraq, and talk about how damaging the ones we have seen so far have been, in the world of perception where the Arab world and other parts of the world already see this pretty much as an American thing, rather than an international operation?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, there are 30 nations in Iraq. We are, of course, the major contributor of troops. But, billions of dollars have been pledged by nations around the world to support the people of Iraq. So I think anybody looking at this will say: Well, Spain found it necessary to leave, two other nations with minor contingents also found it necessary to leave. But everybody else is remaining firm. So 30 nations - I think that's the right number - 30 nations remain steadfast in Iraq, committed to the mission that they went in there for. I hope that is the message that everybody takes away from recent events. And they are remaining steadfast even when the going got tough.
In the case of Spain, there was a change in government, and the new government had made it clear that they would be leaving. They left earlier than we thought they would, and rather suddenly, but that's the choice of a sovereign government. The rest - with the exception Honduras and the Dominican Republic, which were really under the Spanish command arrangement, felt they had to depart - everybody else is remaining there. And I think that is a positive message.
FOREIGN MINISTER MOELLER: Could we have a last question, please?
QUESTION: I would like to ask a question about the expansion of the EU. Any concern about this expansion as it relates to (inaudible) Russia?
SECRETARY POWELL: No, I have no concerns. And I'll turn to the Minister on this one. In fact, as a result of arrangements that have been made between NATO and the European Union, we see new areas of cooperation. One such area is going to be in Bosnia, as the mission shifts from NATO to the European Union with NATO support, exactly as we had anticipated under the Berlin-Plus arrangement. But I would yield to Per Stig on this one.
FOREIGN MINISTER MOELLER: I do not think we have problems. We made, as Colin mentions, this coordination with Russia just to prevent that, when we prepared the enlargement. That is why we had the NATO-Russia Council. I am also looking forward to situations where we can cooperate. The European Union just the other day made arrangements with Russia concerning the enlargement of the European Union, concerning the last questions that were between us. So, it is really important that we have good cooperation with Russia, that we do not have new troubles in Europe because of antagonism between Western and Eastern Europe. And that's what we are working at and Russia is working at it as well.
Thank you very much, 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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