19 July 2004
State's Armitage, Iraq's Zebari Meet Reporters in Baghdad July 18
Armitage says U.S. committed to offering maximum support to Iraq
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, the highest member of the Bush administration to visit Iraq since the restoration of sovereignty, and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari held discussions in Baghdad July 18 on the political and security situation in Iraq.
Armitage said the U.S. government is committed to supporting the Iraqi government "to the absolute extent we can."
"...Iraqis are making the decision that they're going to have a future and they're going to be involved in all the full activities in the world," Armitage said.
Commenting on the decision of the Philippines to withdraw its troops from Iraq under pressure from terrorists, Armitage said, "We might not like it, but we must respect it."
Zebari said Iraq needs support from the international community and the United Nations to strengthen the political process and help arrange free elections. He said the Iraqi government is preparing to announce the appointment of 43 ambassadors as it works to regain "its natural position as a peaceful and helpful element in the international community."
Zebari said Iraq wants to reinforce its relations with all Arab countries. He said the French ambassador recently submitted his credentials and the German ambassador was received in Baghdad July 18.
Zebari said it was in Syria's interest to seal its border with Iraq and stop infiltration.
Following is the transcript of the Armitage-Zebari press conference:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
July 19, 2004
Remarks to the Press
Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage And Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari
July 18, 2004
Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Baghdad, Iraq
(6:30 p.m. local)
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI: To start with, I would like to welcome His Excellency the Deputy Secretary, Mr Armitage. This is not his first visit to Iraq. We have had a fruitful and useful meeting about the developments in the political and security situation in Iraq and the steps being taken by the Iraqi Government to strengthen security and stability as well as the construction and development of the country.
We also discussed a number of issues of interest for both countries, particularly the issue of Iraq's relation with neighboring countries and Iraq's need for these countries to offer their help in supporting security and stability in Iraq. We also discussed some of the present basic issues including the role of the UN in the political process and the need for it to participate actively in supporting the political process especially in relation to our commitment to hold a national conference and holding free elections in Iraq. We need an international and UN presence in Iraq. We also discussed bilateral relations and I explained to our dear guest the steps taken by the MFA in normalizing relations with the outside world. Shortly, we are going to announce the appointment of 43 ambassadors. This should help Iraq in regaining its natural position as a peaceful and helpful element in the international community. Again, I welcome the Deputy Secretary.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Mr. Minister, thank you very much for your kind hospitality today, but moreover for the discussions and conversations we just had. We've benefited from these conversations as well as the conversations held earlier today with Shaykh Ghazi, the President, and with Dr. Allawi, the Prime Minister. The message here in the United States is quite simple: there is a sovereign government in Iraq; our job is to support that government to the absolute extent we can. We're going to do it. We're committed to it. Even such things as your announcement of your new ambassadors to 43 countries. It's the kind of thing that gives us enthusiasm that Iraqis are making the decision that they're going to have a future and they're going to be involved in all the full activities in the world.
Mr. Minister, their job is to ask questions and our job is to answer them, so I suggest we start letting them get at their job.
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI: Please. We are ready to answer your questions.
QUESTION: Your Foreign Ministry (sic) of the United States in Iraq just opened. How many people will be working there? Has the Department of State come to help organize the work of the Embassy?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: We have a growing Embassy staff. Several hundred are there now. We will have as many as seven or eight hundred local employees once we're full up. The activities of Ambassador Negroponte and his colleagues are extraordinary indeed and I was staggered to find that so much has been done in what is a relatively short time.
QUESTION: Secretary Armitage, there has been some dispute within the Iraqi government in terms of the new amnesty that will be issued to members of the insurgency. What is the position of the United States on whether that amnesty will cover members of the insurgency who have killed American soldiers or who wounded American soldiers?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: The question of an amnesty should have been directed to my distinguished colleague. This is an Iraqi decision that will be made by Iraqis. However, it is a generally held view in the United States that people with blood on their hands who have killed Iraqis or Americans are probably not good candidates for amnesty. But as I say this is an Iraqi decision.
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI: I will just add that this is indeed an Iraqi decision. The amnesty law in fact has exempted those who are involved in killing Iraqis and Coalition at the same time and those who have committed serious crimes or serious violations. So in that, there really haven't been any differences in opinion between the Iraqi Government and the U.S. Embassy.
QUESTION: On the subject of the 43 new ambassadors and the race among foreign countries to open embassies in Iraq. There hasn't been much interest from the Arab countries. What kind of message do you want to send to the Arab world?
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI: We would like to reinforce our relations with all Arab countries. Iraq is in the Arab League. Tomorrow we'll announce the ambassadors to all Arab countries. Relations were severed with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but recently there have been positive signals from those countries about resuming relations. There will be a meeting in Cairo attended by the UN Secretary General Lakhdar Al-Brahimi and the new EU Foreign Secretary where we can consolidate those diplomatic relations. In principle we have no reservations about resuming relations with any Arab countries, and as we are in touch with them on a continuous basis the enthusiasm will increase. In the last few days, we received the credentials of the French Ambassador. Today, we have received the German ambassador here. The train is moving along and continues.
QUESTION: What can you say about the dispute between the MFA and PM Allawi on the choice of ministers?
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI: Different points of views are natural in a democratic regime. In fact, there is absolutely no dispute but rather disagreement on the process of appointing and confirming ambassadors. Appointing ambassadors requires consultations and arrangements and we work along the same lines.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.) What can you say about the cooperation of the Iraqi government and the U.S. State and Defense Departments?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Any cooperation from the Department of Defense and the Department of State here in Iraq would be run through our Embassy and our Ambassador, John Negroponte. If that answer does not address your question, please repeat it.
QUESTION: That's fine, thank you.
QUESTION: On the topic of the security situation in Iraq: Are you confident in the way the regime is handling it?
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI: On your first question, as for Syria, we are hopeful of their intentions. It is in the interest of both countries to strengthen security and stability in Iraq. This issue will be discussed in a forthcoming meeting. We look at the situation in Iraq, we look at what happens. The Deputy Prime Minister went to Syria to meet with them. (Inaudible.) We believe we have achieved practical results on stopping infiltration across the borders. This is what we want and what we expect from neighboring countries.
QUESTION: The government of the Philippines is going to pull out in the next twenty-four hours. What message does this send to the terrorists, and what are the plans of other coalition members? In addition, how is this going to affect relations between Iraq and the Philippines and between the U.S. and the Philippines?
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI: We have expressed our deep regret over the Philippine government's decision to withdraw its military units. In fact, we valued very much their contribution in the multi-national forces, but this came in response to demands made by terrorist gangs who are holding a driver from the Philippines against his will. This in my view and the view of the Iraqi government is that it has set a bad precedent and will send all the wrong messages. And terrorists should not be rewarded. Otherwise, this could repeat itself. We in fact in the Foreign Ministry have posted on the website a statement expressing our deep regret for this premature decision by the government of the Philippines.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: On the second part of the question: We've had a relationship with the Philippines for over a hundred years. We too very much regret the decision of the Philippines for the very reasons my distinguished colleague has outlined. But we're going to have relations with the Philippines again tomorrow. It's going to continue. We've had differences of opinion before. We'll have them again. This is what it means to be a sovereign government. They made a sovereign decision. We might not like it, but we must respect it.
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI: We'll take two more questions.
QUESTION: You mentioned the conference here at the end of the month. What security concerns do you have, and will they delay the conference?
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI: For us this is an important event to have this National Conference convened to broaden the political participation to make the process more inclusive. We are working to organize that within the time limit that we have agreed; but we all also need to be realistic and conscious also of the security situation. That's why at the moment the Preparatory Committee which is in charge of organizing this conference is in regular contact and consultation with the Prime Minister's office of the government to find the best way to hold this conference as soon as possible. Really, in my view, if the date were to slip a few days it wouldn't be a major disaster, but I think the Government is committed to holding this important conference as soon as possible.
QUESTION: The question is for Mr. Armitage. You are the highest ranking U.S. official to visit Iraq since the transfer of sovereignty. Can you share what you think has changed about the U.S. presence here? And secondly, can you say something about the air strikes against Fallujah last night -- did you hit Zarqawi? Did you discuss this with the Prime Minister? We're told that you're targeting 25 Zarqawi suspects.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Even in the answer to the second part of your question is a good sign of what it means to transfer sovereignty. The simple difference is that we're not in the front seat anymore with our hand on the steering wheel. We are a supporting partner to a sovereign government. They will make the decisions. On the question of the air strike and possible criticism, we worked with the government, the government was fully informed about these matters, they agreed with us on the need to take the action, we conducted the action. I've not seen the widespread criticism I think you were referring to. The point is, we didn't just strike off on our own. The sovereign nation had to agree.
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI: That's all. Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=July&x=20040719155137cpataruk0.8576013&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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