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U.S. Department of State

Daily Press Briefing

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QUESTION: Apparently there is some optimistic words coming from Seoul about the possibility of final agreement from North Korea on Four-Party talks. Has the United States been informed by Pyongyang that it is ready to enter into talks without conditions?

MR. BURNS: I don't believe we have. I know that there was another trilateral meeting on Friday afternoon. Mark Minton, our very fine Korean Desk office director, participated for the United States. We continue to hope that North Korea will accept our invitation to participate in the four-party talks, but we have no agreement yet by North Korea that it will do so. This is a big - a very large, important objective of American policy in Asia and we hope to realize it, but we have been down the road enough times or almost to the altar enough times with the North Koreans to understand that you do not want to say your vows until you actually get to the altar and we're not there yet.

I do not know if we are even walking in the church yet. I'm not sure where we are. We are probably thinking about the church and we have it on the horizon, we've got our tuxedos on, but -- is this going to be understandable in translation into Korean? That is what I'm worried about.

(Laughter.)

Let me just say this. Forget about my matrimonial metaphors. Let's just say this. We have been down enough roads with the North Koreans and never gotten to the end of those roads to know that we'll have to take it one step at a time. We do not have an agreement yet. We hope to have an agreement. We will continue to work on it. We're working pretty hard on this right now. There are a lot of talks, but no progress yet that I can point to.

QUESTION: There's been no progress?

MR. BURNS: Not that I can point to. Not that I wish to point to.

QUESTION: What can you say - it's been reported that there was no progress; that the North Koreans didn't really want to go forward on these missile talks on Friday with Mr. Minton.

MR. BURNS: Those were useful and business-like talks in the lexicon of the State Department - useful and businesslike, Bill.

QUESTION: What follows useful and businesslike?

MR. BURNS: Well, hopefully more useful and more businesslike talks so that we can get better behavior from the North Koreans on proliferation issues. That is important. But we will continue to work very seriously with the North Koreans on all these issues.

QUESTION: How about other talks that are going to follow these talks on the missiles? I mean more missile talks?

MR. BURNS: I don't know that we have agreed to any specific dates for new talks. But obviously, the United States wants to have regular talks with the North Koreans on the issue of missile proliferation, yes.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. BURNS: Yes, and them we'll go to Mr. Lambros. Yes?

QUESTION: Primakov in Moscow -- he said that these contracts for the Greek Cypriot missiles have been signed and missiles will be shipped. There will be no retreat. What is the U.S. comment?

MR. BURNS: I saw those comments. The position of the United States has not changed. We believe that Cyprus' purchase of SA-10 or S-300 missiles represents a setback to diplomatic peace efforts. Secretary Albright reiterated this view when she met with Foreign Minister Kasoulides on June 6th.

We have raised this concern at the most senior levels of the Russian Government consistently over the last couple of months. You will recall that, I believe it was in January of this year, January 1997, when President Clerides guaranteed that not one component of this particular missile system would reach Cyprus for 16 months, starting on the clock in January 1997. This gives times for negotiations and for discussions which we hope will make sufficient progress among the parties so that it won't be necessary or wise for the deployment of these missiles to be necessary 16 months after January '97 or in March of 1998.

QUESTION: But given your statement --

MR. BURNS: Longer than March '98, excuse me. The summer of 1998.

QUESTION: Two weeks ago, the last week, the Cypriot Foreign Minister visited Ms. Albright. At that time, even his statement and your statement, show that Greek Cypriot import some part of this missile and even discredit his promises. Don't you have any reaction?

MR. BURNS: I don't accept your facts, with all due respect, Savas. With all due respect, I do not understand that that report is true. We have been told in very clear terms by a very honorable person, the president of Cyprus -- a man who has kept his word always to the United States -- that none of these parts would be imported for 16 months. That would take us to the Summer of 1998. We have no evidence to the contrary -- no evidence that missile parts have been introduced, missile parts that are components of this SA-10 system.

QUESTION: Despite the fact that Mr. Clerides promised not to deliver in the next 16 months period, still Turkish threatened for plaintive strikes against the Republic of Cyprus. I would like you to comment on this particular issue.

MR. BURNS: Just as we do not believe it is wise to introduce a missile system into the Eastern Mediterranean, we think it is objectionable and unwise for Turkey to threaten any kind of military action against Cyprus. We have said so publicly. We have told the Turkish Government privately about this. We mean what we say. Turkey ought not to threaten Cyprus. Turkey has no reason to threaten Cyprus, because here you have the United Nations Secretary General bringing the parties together in just a couple of weeks outside of New York. You have Dick Holbrooke appointed by the Secretary of State to lead our own efforts. You have Sir David Hannay, who will be leading the U.K. efforts. There is enough reason to think that there could be diplomatic movement forward to encourage the Turkish Government not to launch rhetorical broadsides and threats against the government of Cyprus which are unwarranted.

QUESTION: Of course you said the other day about counter-measures on behalf of Turkey. You remember one of your letters -- the read-out for the meeting between Secretary of State and Mr. Clerides. You were talking about counter-measures by others, namely Turkey. That is why --

MR. BURNS: We would never support any threat of force or any use of force in the eastern Mediterranean.

QUESTION: The Greek Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kasoulides - together with a bunch of Greek ambassadors in charge for Turkish, U.S. and Balkan Affairs are going to meet tomorrow here at the State Department with Under Secretary Pickering. I am wondering, Mr. Burns, who initiated this meeting and the purpose of it?

MR. BURNS: Mr. Lambros, I will try to get you more information on those meetings and we will get back to you tomorrow with enough information to satisfy your curiosity on that issue.

QUESTION: And the last one -- the President of the Western Pallas Center of California last week met here at the State Department with senior officials regarding the Aegean issue. He stated after the meeting to the press that the State Department instructed Penniman's map agency to place in its map Imia as a Greek and not as a so-called Kardak*. I am wondering if your policy has been changed.

MR. BURNS: One of the great things about the United States is that we maintain our policies. We maintain consistency of our policies and our policy in this particular issue has not changed. I am unaware of the instructions on maps. I just don't know anything about that.

QUESTION: Can you take the discussion, because --

MR. BURNS: I will consider it. Mr. Lambros. I am not sure we can give you a better answer than the perfectly useful answer I've just given you. Our policy has not changed.

QUESTION: But remember, since February 1, 1996, the U.S. Government does not recognize either Greek nor Turkish sovereignty over Imia, correct?

MR. BURNS: Our policy has not changed on that issue.

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