ACCESSION NUMBER:301489
FILE ID:POL302
DATE:09/01/93
TITLE:STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 (09/01/93)
TEXT:*93090102.POL
STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
(U.S./India/Pakistan, RUSSIA/KAL 007) (490)
NEWS BRIEFING -- Spokesman Michael McCurry discussed the following topics:
U.S. HOLDS REGULAR CONSULTATIONS WITH INDIA, PAKISTAN
McCurry said that the U.S. talks in Washington with the foreign ministers of
India and Pakistan are part of what the United States hopes will become
"routine" bilateral conversations with both nations on regional issues.
India's Foreign Secretary J.N. Dixit met last week with Acting Secretary of
State Wharton and other U.S. officials, he noted, and Pakistan's Foreign
Minister Mohamma'd Shaharyar Khan was to confer September 1 with Robin
Raphel, assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs; Khan also was
to meet with other U.S. officials during his visit.
In addition to bilateral matters, McCurry said the talks with the two
officials included such topics as "proliferation issues, tension in the
region, steps that can be taken to avoid the outbreak of war, and
confidence-building measures that nations in the region can take to help
diminish the prospects of hostility."
McCurry said the transfer of M-11 missile items from China to Pakistan would
be raised in the talks with Shaharyar Khan. The United States last week
imposed sanctions against Chinese and Pakistani entities for the transfer
of missile items in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime.
McCurry noted that the United States has a broad range of interests in its
bilateral relations with Pakistan. "We will work to find areas of
cooperation, and we will also work again to see if we can make any progress
on clarifying our concerns about the M-11 issue."
U.S. SAYS RUSSIA OWES COMPENSATION TO KAL 007 VICTIMS
The U.S. position that the Russian Federation owes compensation to the
families of those killed aboard KAL Flight 007 is an issue "that we have
raised in the past with Russia and will continue to do so."
He referred to the downing of a Korean civilian airliner over the former
Soviet Union 10 years ago in which all 269 persons aboard were killed.
A Russian commission investigating the incident reported August 30 that the
tragedy was caused by a series of mistakes by the KAL pilots and that the
former Soviet Union bears no guilt in the matter, press stories reported.
The spokesman said the department has not seen the report of the Russian
commission, but "it appears (based on U.S. embassy reports) that the
Russian commission largely endorsed the conclusions of the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) report, which was issued in June 1993."
McCurry noted that the ICAO report concerning the conduct of the Soviet
1ilots involved concluded "that exhaustive efforts to identify the intruder
aircraft were not made, although apparently some doubt remained regarding
its identity. And that the USSR military aircraft did not comply with the
ICAO standards and recommended practices for interception of civil aircraft
before attacking the flight."
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