Department of State
On-the-Record Briefing on Secretary Clinton’s Upcoming Travel to Europe
Philip H. Gordon
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Washington, DC
October 8, 2009
MR. KELLY:
We’re very pleased to have with us today Assistant Secretary Phil
Gordon. He is going to preview the Secretary’s trip to Switzerland,
the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Russia. And Phil, I
will turn it over to you.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY GORDON:
Thanks, Ian. Good afternoon, everybody. I will just walk through some
basic elements about the trip and then look forward to your questions.
The Secretary is going to start off by going to Zurich, where she will
attend the signing of two protocols between the governments of Turkey
and Armenia. She’s going there to show our support for what we believe
is a historic step for both Turkey and Armenia towards normalization
of their relations. We’ve been engaged in this process. She has
herself been closely engaged with the parties to move it along, and
we’re going to remain ready to work closely with both governments in
support of this process, which we believe will contribute to peace and
security and stability throughout the region.
The Secretary will then travel to London, where she will talk with
senior UK officials on a wide range of bilateral and transatlantic
issues, including Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. These consultations
will underscore the strength of the UK-U.S. relationship and the
continuous high-level engagement we enjoy with our friends and allies.
From London, she will travel to Ireland and Northern Ireland for the
first time as Secretary of State. During her visit to Dublin, she will
meet with senior Irish leaders and reaffirm our strong commitment to
and ties with Ireland. In Belfast, Secretary Clinton will highlight
our continuing commitment to the political progress and economic
development in Northern Ireland. Her visit there will highlight our
ongoing efforts, along with our international partners, to ensure
Northern Ireland’s economic recovery, a commitment that has been
reinforced by the recent appointment of a new Economic Envoy to
Northern Ireland Declan Kelly. We want to see trade and investment
continue to provide jobs and opportunities for both sides of the
Atlantic.
Finally, the Secretary will travel to Moscow, where she’ll hold a
series of meetings with Russian officials including President Medvedev
and Foreign Minister Lavrov. They’ll review progress and provide
further guidance to our negotiators on a successor agreement to
START. They’ll discuss bilateral and regional issues such as
cooperation in Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East and North Korea.
She and Foreign Minister Lavrov are the coordinators, as you know, of
the new Bilateral Presidential Commission that was established last
July in Moscow at the presidential summit. And together, they will
review the progress of the commission’s various working groups.
These consultations are an integral part of our renewed partnership
with Russia, one that we believe is already yielding concrete results,
from progress on a successor agreement to START to Russia’s agreement
to allow the United States to transport military personnel and
equipment across Russia in support of NATO-led operations in
Afghanistan. You will remember the lethal transit agreement that was
signed in July by the presidents is now up and running and a flight
took place this morning implementing that agreement.
After Moscow, she will travel to Kazan, where she will meet with local
officials and hold discussions with religious leaders in Kazan to
learn more about Kazan’s experience in fostering tolerance and
promoting interfaith dialogue. The Secretary will be hoping to gain a
better understanding of what’s worked well in Tatarstan’s development
and solicit advice from religious leaders, young Muslims, participants
in U.S. exchange programs, and civil society representatives on how to
apply the lessons from their experience in other societies.
So you see, that’s a pretty wide-ranging and diverse but I think