06 January 2004
U.S. Demands Verification of Libyan WMDs before Lifting Sanctions
Powell welcomes North Korean offer on its nuclear program
Secretary of State Colin Powell said that prior to reviewing U.S. sanctions against Libya and other bilateral policies that have been in place over the years, the Bush administration will first verify Libya's nuclear program and its weapons of mass destruction arsenal.
Speaking January 6 with Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia in Washington, Powell said the United States wants to "make sure we have a clear understanding of what Libya possesses, make sure it matches up with what we think they possess and what they tell us they possess."
Libyan officials, he said, "are very forthcoming to this point."
The United States, the United Kingdom and the International Atomic Energy Agency will then work with Libya "to verify their holdings and the destruction of those holdings in accordance with the terms of the agreement," said Powell.
"When we get that under control and we have a good sense of all of that, then we'll start to examine the political and policy issues that relate to bringing Libya back into a different relationship with the United States and with the rest of the international community," he said, including U.S. sanctions that have been in place since 1986.
Regarding North Korea, Powell said he was encouraged by Pyongyang's statement that it was willing to suspend its nuclear weapons program.
"[I]t was an interesting statement. It was a positive statement. They in effect said they won't test, and they implied that they would give up all aspects of their nuclear program, not just weapons program," he said.
The secretary expressed his hope that the statement would allow a quick resumption and real progress at six-party framework talks between North Korea, South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.
Powell was also asked about allegations that sources in Pakistan may have helped Libya in its nuclear program. He told the press that the issue had been raised with the Pakistani government and said President Pervez Musharraf "is aggressively moving to investigate all of that."
Following is a transcript of Secretary of State Powell and Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
January 6, 2004
REMARKS
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
And Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia
After Their Meeting
January 6, 2004
C Street Entrance
Washington, D.C.
(12:10 p.m. EST)
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, good morning, everyone and happy new year. Pleasure for me to start my new year with meeting with an old and dear friend, the Foreign Minister of Tunisia. We go back some 20 years serving in one capacity or another with each other and that really reflects not only the personal relationship I have with Habib but the strong relationship that exists between our two countries.
The Foreign Minister is here to prepare for the visit of President Ali next month and President Bush is looking forward very much to that. And as you know, I visited Tunis last month in order to also prepare for the trip.
We talked about how we could find ways to improve the level of our strategic dialogue with each other. I thank the Minister for the kind of cooperation that our military have enjoyed for so many years. We also reviewed the situation in North Africa, the Maghreb, hoping that we can see progress toward a solution of the situation in the Western Sahara, taking note of the very important developments that have taken place in Libya in recent weeks, which is right in the neighborhood. And President Ben Ali and the Minister had quite a bit to do, I think, with shaping the environment for the Libyans to realize it was time to make a change in policy.
We also reviewed some of the current events of the day, most significantly the very successful talks that were held between the Indians and the Pakistanis in Islamabad, and as President Musharraf said, I think it was a historic meeting that has taken place and opened new opportunities for achieving peace in that part of the world.
We talked about the Middle East as well, and hopefully that in this new year, we can find ways to move forward on the roadmap to achieve the President's vision as laid out in his speech of 24 June of 2002.
And so, once again, Habib, it's a great pleasure to welcome you here and I look forward to seeing you again next month when you come with President Ben Ali.
MR. YAHIA: Yes. Thank you.
SECRETARY POWELL: Any words?
MR. YAHIA: Well, Mr. Secretary, it's nice to see you again, after your quick visit to Tunis. To see you again back in good health in your office is a source of satisfaction for us to have a friend in the State Department.
I think my -- as I -- you said, I'm here to prepare the visit of my President next month, and you were talking about two old friends. Our relationship dates back to 1797. So, old friends that knew each other, supported each other -- Tunisia's independence was gained through a lot of work, hard work, and the support of the United States, and the support of the United States during the early days of our independence. So I agree with you that we do have developed together a strategic relationship that we would like to preserve and even develop further.
We have worked together for peace in the Middle East, for peace in North Africa, for peace in Iraq. We struggle together against terrorism. We have been both victims of terrorism and this is what I can add to what you said with all Tunisia's support to the United States' policy in putting the clock all around the world, to the beginning of this year, to peace time. Thank you.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you, Mr. Minister.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY POWELL: Barry.
QUESTION: Can I ask you about the Kurds? There's been a lot of speculation that the U.S. may be moving toward a position -- I don't want to use the word "autonomy" because that's a legal phrase that maybe is too restrictive. But is there something in mind? I know it's Iraq's decision. But does the U.S. have something in mind to give them more self-expression, give them a little more freedom, so to speak?
SECRETARY POWELL: I read some stories about it earlier this week which I think, perhaps, overstated what our position is. Our position is to let the Iraqis work this out. It was the position of the United States from the very beginning of this crisis that it had to remain one single integrated country. How it organizes itself, recognizing the major constituencies in the nation, remains to be determined.
We will work with the Iraqis, as they work their way through this challenging issue for them. The Governing Council has discussed it on a number of occasions. They have different versions of the administrative law that they're working on to deal with this, and I would not want to prejudge here now what they might end up as finding the right solution.
But, clearly, the Kurds wish, in some way, to preserve their historic identity and to link it in some way to geography. But I think it's absolutely clear that that part of Iraq must remain part of Iraq.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary --
QUESTION: Could this be managed without irritating or antagonizing Turkey?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, we are not looking to irritate or antagonize anyone; certainly neither are the Iraqis. And as this plan develops, as the November 15th plan unfolds over the next six or seven months, we'll be in close consultation, not only with Turkey, but with the -- all the other neighbors in the region who have an interest as well.
Andrea.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, given the importance of Pakistan to the United States in the war against terror, is there a reluctance on the part of the Administration to pursue all leads as to how Pakistani design for centrifuges got to Libya including AQ Kahn and other leaders who could not have operated without the support of the government there. Is there reluctance because of our reliance on Pakistan and because of the assassination attempts against Musharraf?
SECRETARY POWELL: No, I don't -- I don't know of any reluctance. We have been interested in proliferation -- proliferating activities on the part of any nation that would create instability or allow rogue nations to develop nuclear weapons.
I have discussed this issue on a number of occasions with President Musharraf and other Pakistani leaders. And as you know, President Musharraf has announced that he will be looking into it himself very thoroughly. And to the extent that we can help him with information, we will.
But we haven't been reluctant. I can assure you of that because I've been the one who's been talking to him about it over these years.
QUESTION: What is the next step with Libya? We and the British are now planning to work jointly on verification. Do you think in the case of Libya, and in the broader context, that there needs to be a new nonproliferation effort internationally because of what we've discovered there and also in Iran?
SECRETARY POWELL: I'm not sure I heard the whole question because of the airplane, but the next step is to make sure we have a clear understanding of what Libya possesses, make sure it matches up with what we think they possess and what they tell us they possess, and they are very forthcoming to this point, and then make sure that we have worked with them to verify their holdings and the destruction of those holdings in accordance with the terms of the agreement. That's the next step, and our teams are being formed now to pursue that.
We will also work with the IAEA, Dr. ElBaradei, and the folks who are working on chemical weapons convention activities as well. When we get that under control and we have a good sense of all of that, then we'll start to examine the political and policy issues that relate to bringing Libya back into a different relationship with the United States and with the rest of the international community.
We'll be looking at the sanctions, we'll be looking at other measures that we have taken against Libya over the years that should now be reviewed in light of that, keeping in mind, always, the interests and the views of the Pan Am 103 families.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, another proliferation question on North Korea, also, Arshad. North Korea is now making noises that it is willing to basically suspend its nuclear weapons program, which has not been acceptable to the United States. Have you -- do you have a response to the latest announcement from North Korea, and have you heard anything from China that would, would convince you that they truly are ready to come back to the negotiating table now under conditions as the U.S. wishes?
SECRETARY POWELL: I think -- I'm convinced that all of the six parties want to get back to the table. Because we are not sitting at a table does not mean we have not been talking to each other. And a lot of papers have gone back and forth and we are in touch with our four partners in this effort, and some of our partners are directly in touch with North Korea. So we've been doing a lot, and I hope that the next six-party talks, when they occur, will take us a step beyond where we have been with the trilateral and the first six-party talks.
To your specific question about what the North Koreans said, it was an interesting statement. It was a positive statement. They, in effect, said they won't test and they implied that they would give up all aspects of their nuclear program, not just weapons program. And this is an interesting step on their part, a positive step, and we hope that it will allow us to move more rapidly toward the six-party framework talks. And what we're looking at is, what should be the outcome of those talks so that it is not just a discussion, but we see real progress at the end of those talks. And I'm encouraged -- I'm encouraged by the statement the North Koreans made.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, do you believe that Pakistan was, indeed, the source of some of the technology designs that may have helped Libya in its nuclear program?
SECRETARY POWELL: I don't have enough information at hand to answer a question quite as specific as that. We know that there have been cases where individuals in Pakistan have worked in these areas and we have called it to the attention of the Pakistanis in the past. And I'm, I'm very pleased now that President Musharraf is aggressively moving to investigate all of that.
Last one and then I --
QUESTION: Just a follow-up on that, Mr. Secretary. If you are going to work with the Pakistanis to find out, how far are you willing to follow this trail, and what if you find out that some of these technologies were transferred to Libya or to other countries while President Musharraf was in office, even after September 11th, when the U.S. and Pakistan pledged their allegiance?
SECRETARY POWELL: Now, that's just much too hypothetical to draw an answer. We will be examining all of this. We have a lot of information that, that we've held for a long time and have shared with people over the years to say that proliferation is a problem. And that's why we've recently started the proliferation initiative, to get more members of the international community involved in halting the flow of knowledge, equipment, technology and materials that could lead to nuclear weapons. And we've had a breakthrough now with Libya. A great deal of pressure has been put on Iran so that Iran has now signed the additional protocol of the NPT and has made certain other commitments to the international community.
Iraq is no longer going to be a source of weapons of mass destruction. And I hope our colleagues in Pyongyang are watching all of this and realizing that they're wasting a lot of money for weapons and technologies and other kinds of programs that will not gain them anything politically.
Thank you.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, how are you feeling?
SECRETARY POWELL: The New York Times said I was fine, so that's why I came to work.
(Laughter.)
(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=January&x=20040106183440namfuaks0.4088404&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
