Background Briefing by Senior State Department Official on Secretary Clinton’s Upcoming Trip to Europe
Washington, DC
October 8, 2009
QUESTION: Have the Swiss actually made an announcement that this thing is going to happen?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: This —
QUESTION: Or the Turks or the Armenian – I mean, it might have
happened in the last couple hours, but it hadn’t happened yet.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
No, the Swiss have not announced it. They’ve organized it. They’ve
invited the parties. The parties have all agreed to come. The Turks
have announced it and spoken publicly about it, as you know, and they
did so a while ago. But the Swiss have not, and it’s my understanding,
don’t plan to make a formal announcement. But they have invited the
parties, and the parties, including Secretary Clinton, have agreed to
come.
QUESTION: Okay. So it’s on, a hundred percent?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It’s on.
QUESTION: Will they actually sign the agreements?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: That’s what they will do at the
signing, yeah.
QUESTION: You’re sure about that?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I am confident —
QUESTION: I mean, there isn’t going to be some last-minute pitch?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I am confident – yes, the parties
have agreed to attend the signing.
QUESTION: Okay.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: And at that signing, they will sign
the two protocols that they had agreed to previously.
QUESTION: Okay.
QUESTION: And what would you say was the key to reaching that decision? The two parties, the two parties coming together?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
Their mutual interest in doing so. I think both governments – we
discussed before that it’s difficult. There’s opposition both in
Turkey and in Armenia to doing so. But both governments realize that
ultimately, it’s in their interest to have normalized relations and an
open border. And after years of tensions and the economic isolation,
particularly of Armenia, I think there’s a great desire on both sides
to move forward.
And they previously agreed to – remember the statement of April 22nd
when they first announced that they had reached agreements in
principle on these things, they had spent the intervening period
consulting internally. And on August 31st, you’ll remember they issued
a statement saying they’re going to take six weeks – that was in the
initial agreement – six weeks of domestic political consultations,
after which they would sign and submit to parliaments.
Well, now we’re at the end of that six-week period from August
31st. And on the 10th in Zurich, that’s what they’re going to
do. They’re going to sign and then they’re going to submit it to
parliaments.
QUESTION: And the two are in diplomatic relations on the border, or is
that just —
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Protocol normalization of relations
and protocol on establishing diplomatic ties.
QUESTION:
Can you explain why the Secretary is actually attending an event that
she doesn’t have that much to do with? I mean, bringing them that close
together, why do that?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
Because, as I think I alluded to, we have long supported this process,
and she’s going to demonstrate and underscore our support for the
process. We have encouraged the parties to move forward and been in
constant touch with them, because it is our profound belief that this
is a historic opportunity for both countries. So she is going to
demonstrate that support, to stand with them and show that we support
it, consult with them on next steps forward. And I should
add that she is not the only international dignitary invited here. The
Russian foreign minister has been invited and plans to attend, the
French foreign minister invited and plans to attend, and the EU Foreign
Policy Chief Solana, and Council of Europe presidency, which is the
Slovenian presidency, Foreign Minister Zbogar. So those will be the
parties in addition to the Turks and the Armenians who will attend the
ceremony demonstrating our collective support for this normalization
process.
QUESTION: Is she going to talk about anything that she’s done
personally? I know she met with him on the sidelines of the UN, but
has she made any calls or just (inaudible)?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
She’s made lots of calls to Turkey and to Armenia, to the foreign
ministers, to the presidents, and has been consistently engaged on the
issue to try to help our friends move forward. And she’s met – in
addition to the phone calls, she’s met a number of times with the
foreign ministers and leaders of both countries, starting at the very
beginning of the Administration.
QUESTION: This might be tangential, but with the Russian, French, and
EU there, will she pull them aside for an Iran talk, given that
they’re about to meet the technical experts right after that?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
She’ll certainly have an opportunity to engage with them. There aren’t
going to be formal Iran talks with them, but of course, it will be a
useful opportunity to talk about the issues of the day, including Iran.
QUESTION: Just to clarify, so these protocols start the process of
normalization?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
Well, once they’re ratified, they would complete the process of
normalization. When – upon ratification, the two countries would have
normal ties and diplomatic relations.
QUESTION: No, the signing, I mean. So there’s going to be a period now
of some time? And so just – the phrasing of what’s actually – what
actually it means?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
Right. Well, as in our system, they’ll be signed and then submitted to
parliaments. Parliaments would have to vote and pass them, but upon
passage, they would then take place, which would mean that the two
countries would have diplomatic relations and a normal relationship.
QUESTION: So they’re moving forward towards normalization if the events —
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
Yeah. As with any such agreement, first the governments have to agree
and then they have to sign it and then the parliaments have to agree.
QUESTION: No, but —
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: So yeah, it’s a step – nobody is
saying this is the final stage in the normalization of
relations. There is more work to do.
QUESTION: The governments agreed to – well, on Monday or Saturday,
will have agreed to normalize ties? That’s —
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: That’s right. When they sign the
protocols, the governments will have agreed to do so.
QUESTION: Right.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: But in democracies —
QUESTION: Right.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: — that won’t exist until the
parliaments have ratified, and that’s obviously going to be important.
QUESTION:
Moving to a different topic, can you give us a flavor of to what extent
the START treaty will be a topic of discussion in Moscow, and will this
be helping progress on that? What role will she play in that?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
It will certainly be an important topic of discussion. Again, as you
know, the presidents – well, back in April when President Obama and
President Medvedev met, they tasked their negotiators to pursue this
follow-on treaty on reducing offensive nuclear weapons. And everyone
knew at the time that START expires on December 5th of this year, and
so the deadline was sort of obvious. The negotiators have been
working diligently to move the process ahead, but we will be – or we
are two months from that deadline. So this will be an opportunity for
the Secretary with her counterpart in Moscow to review where we are on
START and discuss some of the remaining issues to try to meet that
deadline, which both sides are committed to meeting, but it’s
difficult; there’s a lot of work that has to be done in a short amount
of time.
QUESTION: So where are we right now?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
We’re making good progress. And as I say, I think both sides are
committed to getting it done. But just as a technical matter, there’s
– there are a lot of details that have to be sorted out for the
follow-on treaty to be finished by December 5th.
QUESTION: Do you think you will get it done by December 5th?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
We are hopeful about getting it done. I don’t think anyone would make
predictions on something that’s difficult to do. But I think both sides
are determined to succeed.
QUESTION: Just to get a little concrete, what kind of sticking points
are there, whether they’re technical or more political?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
It’s always a combination of both. I mean, you saw in the framework
agreed by the presidents at the summit in July that they gave – each
side gave a range on delivery vehicles and on warheads. So that’s one
thing that has to be finalized is at which side of each range are you
going to end up, and that’s what a negotiation is, and that’s
political and technical. And then you have details on how the
verification mechanisms will work and issues like that. But at a
minimum, we have to agree on ranges for warheads and delivery
vehicles.
QUESTION: I’m sorry —
QUESTION: Does the Secretary bring —
QUESTION: Sorry.
QUESTION: Are you picking —
MR. KELLY: I can do that. Mary Beth, go ahead.
QUESTION: Mary Beth Sheridan from The Washington Post.
We haven’t met. Is there some component of the meetings in Moscow that
involve missile defense talks? There seems to have been some mention
of that in some stories I’ve read.
QUESTION: Actually, that was my question, too. And whether the
Secretary is bringing any new proposals about Russian participation in
the ABM architecture, new architecture?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Okay.
Well, I’ll just sort of answer both of those at once. There is not any
sort of separate session set up for missile defense talks, but I’m
sure that she will discuss this with her counterparts. It’s an
important issue. This will be the first time she’s seen Foreign
Minister Lavrov since we announced our approach on missile defense,
and I’m sure that they will have the opportunity to talk about it.
QUESTION: No, they met in New York.
QUESTION: Well, they saw each other at the UN.
QUESTION: New York.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Okay.
QUESTION: Well, didn’t they? I mean —
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
Is the – I mean, the presidents met and the foreign ministers were
there. But this is a chance to talk about all of the issues, and
missile defense will no doubt come up. Under Secretary Tauscher will,
prior to the Secretary’s arrival, be meeting her counterparts, and
again, that will also be an opportunity to discuss this issue.
QUESTION: In Moscow?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
Yeah. We have long said that we’re interested in cooperating with
Russia on missile defense and have talked about the types of things
that might be possible and have waited for Russian reactions and still
are waiting, and we are interested. So we’ll see if they have anything
new to say about how they think we might be able to work together on
missile defense.
QUESTION: So – I’m sorry, just to
clarify, because my understanding before had been that there was
discussion about this radar and sharing – some kind of use of it or
whatever. That doesn’t seem to be part of the new U.S. plan in terms of
the sort of more short and medium-range missile threat and everything
else. So, I mean, there’s obviously part of START that’s going to
mention missile defense somehow, so they have to work that out, right?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
Not really. I mean, START is about reducing offensive weapons. The
Russians always want to talk about defensive weapons as part of it,
but that’s not our view.
QUESTION: Yeah. Right. But there’s going to be some mention of it in START?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No. There’s – in most arms control
treaties, and probably this one as well, there will be a reference.
QUESTION: Right.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
The framework that the President signed in July had one sentence
talking about the negotiators will take into account the relationship
between offensive and defensive weapons.
QUESTION: Yeah.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: That’s in SALT, that’s in START, and
it’s in the framework for this treaty as well.
QUESTION: Yeah. That’s what I meant.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: But that’s all.
QUESTION: Yeah, okay.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Okay.
QUESTION:
So if the radar plan is not really on the table anymore, what – sort
of what options might, or what – you know, what’s the thought about
what they might do together?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
It’s not off the table either. In the plan that we presented, that
the President decided and we announced, there is no reference to
specific Russian cooperation because it’s not part of the plan. We
have a plan that doesn’t require it. But we have always said, before
this and now, that we look forward to speaking to the Russians about
how they might be involved. We think they face missile threats as we
do, and there are various ways we can cooperate on that. So it’s not
part of the plan, but it’s not off the table either.
QUESTION: Can I just clarify, because General Cartwright has said that
they would like to put a radar site in the Caucuses and that would
involve, obviously, dealing with the Russians on that. Is that not
still on =80`
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It wouldn’t necessarily —
QUESTION: Not necessarily for Armenia. (Laughter.)
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It wouldn’t necessarily —
QUESTION: I guess there are other Caucasus countries that —
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah. That’s not a reference to
Russia.
QUESTION: Okay. Because there – obviously, in the previous
administration, there were talks about using Russian sites –
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Right.
QUESTION: So it could be Russian sites, it could be other; it’s not
necessarily Russia?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Right.
QUESTION: Okay.
QUESTION:
But would it be correct to assume that that’s – this is not – that’s
not a big focus of what the Secretary is going to be doing?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
That would be correct to assume. With an agenda that includes START and
the bilateral presidential commission and Iran and Afghanistan and
European security, there’s plenty to talk about. I mean, this is not a
missile defense trip, but it’s an important issue. Our desire to
cooperate remains on the table, and it’ll probably come up.
QUESTION:
Is the Secretary planning to meet any civil society leaders or go to
Novaya Gazeta or Ekho Moskvy or to any other media entities in Russia?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah, she is a doing a meeting with
civil society leaders.
QUESTION: Can you specify more about that – what leaders, who is going
to participate?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
I can get back to you with that because I don’t have the list in front
of me. But she’s going to do a session with various civil society and
human rights groups.
QUESTION: Is she going to give an interview to the Russian media while
she’s in Moscow?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I’m not sure. I don’t have the
details on that. We can get back to you.
QUESTION:
With the issue of democracy, I wonder how she handles it in Kazan as
well, because it’s not exactly a bastion of democracy, although
religious freedom (inaudible).
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:
Yeah. Well, what I can tell you is that she’ll talk about all of those
things. You saw her statement yesterday, right, on the killings and
lack of accountability. And she feels very strongly about that and she
will raise it in person, and she will talk about issues of democracy
and human rights, which remain very important to us.
QUESTION: Both in Moscow and in Kazan?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah.
QUESTION:
Back to Iran – I mean, that’s obviously on the agenda. The technical
experts are meeting, obviously, so is there any hope that they made
progress, or noises from the Russian that they were more in line with
the British, French, and the U.S. on the way forward in Iran? Is that
hopeful?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yes. I mean, that is going to –
it’ll be very high on the agenda, I mean – as it was in New York – I
mean, of the P-5+1, and then since then, we had Geneva. And you saw
Medvedev’s comments about sanctions in Iran in New York, and we want
to follow up on that, and of course, the Geneva announcement about
taking LEU out of Iran and to be turned into fuel in Russia. These are
all things that we want to follow up on in Moscow, and that’s one of
the reasons she’s going.
QUESTION: I mean, are you hoping that there is a specific declaration
by the Russians that they’re willing to go along on any of those
points? Or is it –
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I don’t know that we’re looking for
any specific new commitments that we hope to make this week. But yes,
we’re looking to move that cooperation forward, because Russia plays a
key role in what we’re trying to do together on Iran. And it’s –
again, I expect that to be very high on the agenda.
QUESTION: On other baskets of issues, what about Georgia? Where is
that? Is that also high, medium high?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: The Secretary will raise Georgia. I
mean, the President has made clear from the start that the better
relationship we want with Russia does not mean that we don’t talk
about things that we disagree on. And that’s what he did in Moscow in
July, and that’s what she’s going to do this time.
We will talk about all of the things that we’re cooperating on and
hope to cooperate on – Afghan lethal transit, arms control,
Afghanistan, and so on, Iran. But we’ll also talk about things we
disagree on, which can include views of democracy and human rights.
Certainly, we disagree on Georgia, we disagree on NATO enlargement,
and that’s the relationship that we have. And our view is that we can
pursue the better, more constructive relationship without sacrificing
our principles or our friends, and that’s what she’s going to do.
QUESTION:
But what more can she say about Georgia other than the report that came
out recently? I mean, what specifically would she want to say about
Georgia?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, she will reiterate our view in
support of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and
encourage the Russians to fully implement the ceasefires of August and
September 2008, which we don’t believe that they have done. And to do
so, to insist that this remain on the table, we don’t consider Georgia
satisfactorily settled right now. It’s still a problem and an issue,
and we want to see international independent observers throughout
Georgia. We want to see humanitarian groups have access to Abkhazia
and South Ossetia. And we don’t accept Russia’s recognition of those
breakaway entities. So we want to keep this on the international
agenda because the status quo is not a good or healthy one.
QUESTION: And how would you characterize the transatlantic relations
at this point? They are (inaudible)?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No, I think they’re actually very
good. I think – I mean, there are always difficult issues that we’re
constantly grappling with. But if you think about the big issues of
the day – Iran, Afghanistan, climate change, the international economy
– I think you’ve seen a pretty solid degree of transatlantic
cooperation. The leaders meet and talk regularly. And in the face of
very difficult problems, I think we’re very pleased with the degree of
transatlantic convergence. We sometimes wish that were a sufficient
condition for solving these problems rather than just a necessary
one. But I think the state of transatlantic relations is very good.
QUESTION: On Afghanistan, what’s the extent of the cooperation of the
alliance in this new strategy?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, I mean, they’re two different
things. First, it’s worth underscoring there are more than 35,000
allied troops in Afghanistan. And that, in and of itself, is hugely
important and reflects a very significant degree of transatlantic
cooperation. I mean, it is basically a NATO mission that is providing
security in Afghanistan, including for the vast majority of American
forces that are over there. That’s the first point. And that is partly
an answer, according to your first question. That’s already a very
positive aspect of transatlantic cooperation. And because of that, our
review of Afghanistan necessarily includes discussions with allies.
At present, the President is reviewing the assessment by General
McChrystal and deciding what is best for the United States and what we
think the best way forward is.
But necessarily, this will be done in cooperation with allies who are
playing a major role on the ground. And again, I am sure that the
Secretary in London, and with Foreign Minister Kouchner on this trip,
will talk about our thinking on the issue.
QUESTION:
Speaking of the topic of transatlantic, our colleagues on the sceptred
isle have been writing quite a bit about the nature of the U.S.-UK
relationship. Is there any effort by the Secretary to reassure the
Brits that the special relationship is still special, or is that not
part of what she’s going to do there?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I think the very fact of traveling
to London and meeting with the prime minister and the foreign minister
on all of the issues we most care about is a reflection of the
importance of the relationship. And she’ll – of course she will
underscore that. Britain remains a close and critically important
ally. We’re just talking about Afghanistan where they have 8,000
troops which we’re enormously grateful for, and is a reflection of how
closely we cooperate and how important their contributions are.
QUESTION: Why is she spending so much time in Ireland?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Is it that much time?
QUESTION: No. She should be spending more time. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: She should be going to the Guinness brewery, too. (Laughter.)
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: She is making a visit to Ireland and
Northern Ireland, her first as Secretary of State, because she cares
deeply about the issue, because millions of Americans care deeply
about the issue, because the United States has interests there and has
been an important actor in bringing about a very successful peace
process. So I don’t think it’s a particularly large amount of time in
the grand scheme of things to take whatever it is, a day and a half or
two, to do what she can to help to continue to move the process along.
QUESTION: Is she a little concerned by the recent events? There’s some
violence by fringe groups. There’s also justice in courts. They have
to resolve power-sharing issues there.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Sure.
Well, indeed, it’s because there are some remaining issues and more
work to do that it’s important that she go and try to help. And yes, of
course she’s concerned when violence flares up again. I think in the
grand scheme of things, violence is obviously dramatically less than it
used to be. But both of the issues you mentioned are a reminder that
this is far from completely finished business. And that’s, again, why
she wants to lend her support to the parties in finishing the job.
QUESTION: Any chance she’ll ask for more help in Guantanamo in Ireland?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We have consistently, as you know,
been asking all of our friends across Europe to help more in
Guantanamo. And help, wherever offered, is welcome.
MR. KELLY: Okay.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION:
Can we stay on Afghanistan? What else have you discussed in Russia
regarding Afghanistan? The lethal flights has been settled. Is there
anything else to be covered?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Sure.
I mean, lethal flights is now underway, and that’s a good thing. But
there’s also =80` the Russians could provide more assistance to
Afghanistan, including in the form of weapons for the Afghan army,
training, counternarcotics. I mean, they have a major role as well
beyond the logistical one, and that’s worth pursuing with them as
well.
QUESTION: Thank you.
PRN: 2009/1014
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