State Dept. Daily Press Briefing March 28, 2007

Daily Press Briefing
Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
March 28, 2007

INDEX:

NORTH KOREA
South Korea Resumes Flood Relief Aid and Fertilizer Aid to North
Korea
North Korea and Issue of Counterfeiting
U.S. Working Toward Resolution on the Banco Delta Asia Issue / US
Officials in Beijing

SAUDI ARABIA
Reported Critical Remarks by King Abdullah Regarding Multinational
Forces in Iraq

IRAN/UK
British Sailors Held by Iranians / UK Decision to Freeze Contacts
with Iran
Query Regarding Possible Exchange of British Sailors for Iranian
Detainees

IRAQ
Ministerial Follow-Up Conference to Baghdad Conference /
Scheduling / Invitees

PERSIAN GULF
US Naval Exercises in the Gulf

ZIMBABWE
Detention of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Leaders
Southern African Development Community (SADC) Meeting in Tanzania
/ Discussion of Situation in Zimbabwe
Prospects for UN Action Regarding Zimbabwe

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Update on Situation / Violence

ITALY
Italian Parliament Vote to Continue Funding Mission in Afghanistan

MISCELLANEOUS
White House Announcement Regarding US Ambassadorial Nomination for
Belgium

ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS
Prime Minister Olmert-President Abbas Meetings / Secretary Rice's
Travel to Region

INDIA
Status of US-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative

GREECE
Query Regarding Under Secretary Burns' Meeting with Former Greek
Officials

SUDAN
Situation in Darfur / US Working with UN Security Council Members
Disappointing Response from President Bashir to UN Secretary
General's Letter
Need for AU/UN Hybrid Force

KOSOVO
U.S. Support for Ahtisaari Plan

TRANSCRIPT:

12:44 p.m. EST

MR. CASEY: Afternoon, everybody. I don't have anything to start you out with, so go right to your questions.

QUESTION: I don't have anything to start with either.

MR. CASEY: Good for you.

Sue.

QUESTION: Actually, I have something on North Korea.

MR. CASEY: Okay.

QUESTION: South Korea has resumed flood relief, aid, and fertilizer aid to North Korea. Is this in accord with the February 13th agreement? And is this an inducement to get North Korea to come back to the denuclearization talks?

MR. CASEY: Sue, I haven't seen those reports, but my understanding would be that's part of a longstanding cooperation between South Korea and North Korea that is outside the framework of the six-party talks. It's in keeping with their existing Sunshine Policy. As you know, specifically under the agreement reached on February 13th, the main provision in terms of goods or support for North Korea that will come as a result of them taking steps to seal Pyongyang and invite the IAEA back in to maintain that and assure the international community that that's being done is the 50,000 tons in equivalent of heavy fuel oil. So I believe this is outside of that and is part of an existing structure of humanitarian support and other measures that the South Koreans have independently organized with the North.

QUESTION: So it's not, just to be clear, part of the six-party agreement?

MR. CASEY: No, it's not.

QUESTION: And then secondly, has North Korea, to your knowledge, stopped counterfeiting dollars?

MR. CASEY: Well, in any instance where we are aware and have information that the North Koreans or anyone else is counterfeiting, we have taken action against it. So certainly, I think we're taking action against any instances of counterfeiting, whether by the North Koreans or anyone else. We certainly don't know what we don't know.

QUESTION: But as far as -- I mean, do you think they're acting in good faith? Do you think they're really trying to stop this?

MR. CASEY: Well, I think that we've got commitments from them through the six-party talks to deal with what is the fundamental problem on the Korean Peninsula, which is the nuclear issue, and as part of that, a commitment to address all kinds of other issues that are problems in their relationship with the United States, with Japan, and with other countries. And the agreement --certainly, states that are on positive and friendly terms with one another generally don't engage in counterfeiting each other's currency.

QUESTION: But to your knowledge, have there been any sort of massive counterfeiting events lately?

MR. CASEY: Not to my knowledge, Sue, but the people over at the place where they count the money at the Treasury would be your best source of information as to whether they have anything new or different on that.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. CASEY: Sylvie.

QUESTION: Another subject. The Arab summit just started in Riyadh and in his opening statement, King Abdullah made a very harsh comment on U.S. He said -- criticized particularly the illegitimate foreign occupation of Iraq. So I wanted to know if you have any reaction on that.

MR. CASEY: Well, I've seen the press reports citing those remarks. Look, Sylvie, all I'd say to you is it's clear, I think, to everyone that the multinational forces are in Iraq at the invitation of the legitimate Iraqi Government and that that presence has been endorsed and given a mandate specifically by the UN Security Council and that that mandate has been renewed several times. So certainly there's no question in our mind that our forces are there in a legal and legitimate capacity in every sense of the word. And again, their objective there is to assist the Iraqi Government and the Iraqi people so that they will ultimately be able to manage security for themselves.

And certainly, as I think the political debate in this country makes clear and as the President has made clear, the United States has no intention of having our forces remain in Iraq any time beyond the point at which the Iraqis themselves are able to be fully responsible for their own security needs.

QUESTION: And it doesn't bother you that Saudi Arabia, your very strong ally in the region, is criticizing your presence there?

MR. CASEY: Well, again, I've only seen the press reports of what the King has said, but I think what's more important is that we do have very good and very strong relations with Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian Government has been a positive actor in terms of trying to support democratic change and support peace in Iraq. Certainly we're appreciative of the efforts they've made on issues like helping to end violence between the Palestinians as well as the efforts that then Crown Prince, now King Abdullah, made in putting forward what became the Arab League initiative related to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. So I'm sure we'll have an opportunity to discuss these and other issues with Saudi officials, but I don't see anything that's been reported on as fundamentally changing our good and longstanding relations with Saudi Arabia.

Jonathan.

QUESTION: Can I ask about the Iranian capture of those British sailors, marines? Have you seen the video, first of all? Have you got any reaction to the pictures that have appeared? Apparently, a letter of confession saying that they were in Iranian waters?

MR. CASEY: I haven't had a chance to see the video. But look, let's be clear about where we stand on this and where we have. What's important to us is that the Iranians do the right thing here, that they heed Prime Minister Blair's call to release these sailors and release them immediately and unconditionally.

What has happened in this instance is that British sailors acting under a UN mandate, acting on behalf of that mandate in Iraqi waters, were illegally taken and illegally seized by Iranian forces. And the appropriate response, and the one that I think everyone in the international community has asked for, is for Iran to release them, release them unharmed and let them go back to the duties that they are assigned to, which again are in the interests of the Iraqi people.

QUESTION: And just to follow up, a few other questions.

MR. CASEY: Sure.

QUESTION: How do you react then to the response that has come from Britain, which is to freeze contacts with the Iranians?

MR. CASEY: Again, that's a decision for the British Government to make. We would hardly be in a position to criticize someone for freezing contacts with the Iranian Government given the lack of diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran.

QUESTION: And another question is what does this mean for the proposed conference that the Secretary of State would attend on Iraq's future that could include Iran and Syria? The British, if they're freezing contacts, were meant to be part of that meeting and clearly at the moment won't be part of that meeting and clearly at the moment, won't be part of that meeting. So will that conference go ahead in the current climate?

MR. CASEY: Well, certainly let's see what happens in terms of what the Iranians actually do and how they actually respond. Again, we are hoping that they will do the right thing here and release these sailors as soon as possible. In terms of the conference, there are plans still underway that the Iraqis are working on to have a ministerial follow-up to the Baghdad envoy level conference, but no date has yet been set for that. And actually, I don't think the venue is has ever formally been decided on as well. So let's see where we are when that gets scheduled. Certainly again and I've said this this morning, the intention and the understanding is that that meeting will take place. But how the countries that are invited to participate in it choose to participate and at what level is obviously going to be an individual call. But the intention always has been that this would be -- the invitation would be from Iraq to all of Iraq's neighbors again and this time not just the permanent members of the Security Council, but to the broader G-8 community as well.

QUESTION: It'll be slightly odd, wouldn't it, if the U.S. went -- if the Secretary of State went along to such a meeting with these British still captured, still in Iranian custody?

MR. CASEY: Well, again, nothing is schedule yet, Jonathan. And I think what our hope would be is that these sailors would be released before such an event took place.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: The U.S. is conducting naval exercises in the Gulf and --

MR. CASEY: I just want to make sure.

QUESTION: Oh, I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Can I just follow-up on --

MR. CASEY: Same.

QUESTION: It's the same subject.

MR. CASEY: Oh, same subject. Okay.

QUESTION: It's the same topic.

MR. CASEY: Oh, okay.

QUESTION: And there is a fear among some that this will sort of escalate tensions with Iran and make it even more difficult for them to free the British Marines and sailors. I just wondered whether you had any comment on that?

MR. CASEY: Well, you can talk to my colleagues over at the Pentagon about the specific details of the exercise. But I'd just note that the President announced back in January that he was sending this carrier group to the Gulf that he was doing so in order for us to be able to continue our longstanding efforts at securing and ensuring security and stability in the region. The exercises that are ongoing certainly pose a threat to no nation, including Iran and I don't believe that anyone should draw a connection between those military exercises, which our naval forces do in various parts of the world all the time and this particular situation with the British sailors that are being held.

QUESTION: And secondly, has anyone contacted or has Iran contacted the United States for a prisoner swap? The Iranian diplomats or whoever they are, being held in Iraq for the sailors?

MR. CASEY: I'm not aware that there's been any communication from the Iranians or anyone else suggesting that.

Let's go back here.

QUESTION: Change the topic?

MR. CASEY: Sure. Sorry, we -- same subject? I'm sorry.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Tom, just in very general terms, can you just give me an assessment of what the U.S. is making of Iran's behavior over this whole affair? Is this deepening their isolation from the rest of the world even further?

MR. CASEY: Well, again, I think it's unfortunate. I think it's very clear to us that again these sailors were taken illegally in contravention of international law. They were performing a very important mission on behalf of the Iraqi people and with full Iraqi support. So it certainly doesn't, I think, help Iran's standing in the international community, but I'd be hard pressed to draw any broader conclusions from it.

QUESTION: What about in terms of the nuclear standoff at the moment? Do you think this has made the situation even worse?

MR. CASEY: Well, I think the problem that Iran faces with regard to its nuclear program is a problem of Iranian creation and Iranian making. There's a clear offer that's out there on the table for the Iranians that the Permanent Five plus Germany's foreign ministers reiterated the same day that the latest Security Council resolution passed offering them a chance to sit down and negotiate, offering them a chance to be able to join with us in discussions not only about their nuclear program but about other issues they wanted on the table. So I think from Iran's perspective you'd have to look at it and say this is simply another instance in where they've failed to seize an opportunity to do something that would be beneficial for their own people. But that's why I think you're seeing lots of concern expressed within Iran about the policies that President Ahmadi-Nejad is pursuing.

Yeah, let's go back to this gentleman because he had started -- oh, sorry.

QUESTION: Sorry, just one --

MR. CASEY: We'll eventually come to Iran and then we will get to you, I promise.

QUESTION: Can I just follow-up on the other one, on the prisoner?

MR. CASEY: Sure.

QUESTION: Could you just indicate how the U.S. would respond to such a request were it made?

MR. CASEY: Oh, Sue. You would like me to speculate in the instance of that?

QUESTION: No, (inaudible).

MR. CASEY: No, sorry. There's too many "ifs" there. I'm not going to speculate. Again, this is not something that's come up and I have no indication that it will.

Okay, now let's go back to this gentleman.

QUESTION: Eventually.

MR. CASEY: Hurry, before someone else jumps in. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Okay. The -- two weeks after the leader of the opposition in Zimbabwe was arrested and beaten he was arrested again today with 20 of his staff of the opposition party. Do you think -- what's your reaction, first of all, and do you think that the condemnation and the threats of added sanctions, do really work in that situation? And secondly, what's your expectation on this extraordinary summit of SADC leaders in Tanzania that is underway right now?

MR. CASEY: Okay. Well, first of all, we're obviously very concerned about the detention of the leaders of the Movement for Democratic Change that occurred earlier in Zimbabwe. There are a number of other instances out there in addition to things that have all been reported that clearly indicate as well that the government of President Mugabe is engaged in a fairly nasty and pretty all-out campaign to intimidate the legitimate political opposition in the country.

There are still serious reports out there of opposition figures who have disappeared, some of whom later turning up badly beaten, some of whom have not been accounted for, many of whom -- who have turned up reporting that those who assaulted them were doing so on instruction from the government, if not directly government agents. So I think events in Zimbabwe over the past few weeks make clear that the Mugabe regime is determined to preserve its power regardless of what the costs are to the rights of the Zimbabwean people. And the regime goes further and then tries to blame these incidents on the opposition itself. I think it's pretty hard for anyone in the international community to take seriously those kinds of allegations.

What we want to see happen, obviously, is President Mugabe make the right choice, stop infringing on the rights of his people, allow the opposition and allow everyone in Zimbabwe to freely express their views, to participate in the political process, and to be able to be free from fear of violence and intimidation. Now tomorrow, as you noted, the Southern African Development Community is going to be meeting in Tanzania and they'll -- going to be doing so to specifically discuss the situation in Zimbabwe.

Certainly, we think it's time for the African states and specifically, this group of neighboring states of Zimbabwe to make clear that this kind of behavior from President Mugabe is unacceptable and to publicly call to -- call him to account for his misrule not only over the last few weeks, but over the last few years.

QUESTION: Can I follow it up quickly --

MR. CASEY: Sure.

QUESTION: -- with another one which is related to this? What has been your reaction to the situation in Congo where the leader of the opposition, Mr. Bemba, is hauled up at the South African embassy?

MR. CASEY: Yeah, well, you've seen -- I think you've seen a couple of statements that we've put out on this. Certainly, we condemn the violence that's occurred there, including the violence that's resulted in loss of life in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Congolese people have gone through a long process of political social reform that's allowed them to hold free elections, to have in place a government, and this kind of violence inspired by Mr. Bemba is something that is a step backward. And so we are working, to the extent we can, with the United Nations and with others to try and ensure that those kinds of incidents don't happen again and that the process of political and economic reform in Congo is allowed to move forward.

Yes, Sue.

QUESTION: Are you looking at any UN action on Zimbabwe? And a couple of weeks ago, Sean said that the U.S. was looking at new, sort of, smart sanctions that wouldn't affect -- you know, the people of Zimbabwe, but would target Mugabe and I just wondered how far you got with that and then at the UN, what you were mulling over?

MR. CASEY: Well, I don't have any announcements to make for you. Obviously, this is a subject of continuing discussion internally within the U.S. Government. Certainly, the incidents that have occurred today continue to make the case for additional actions. In terms of Security Council actions, I don't think there is anything presently scheduled, but we'll keep you posted as things go on there.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. CASEY: Let's go back here.

QUESTION: Do you have a comment on the Italian Parliament voting the Afghan mission?

MR. CASEY: Did we ever get anything on the Italian Parliament? We will have to get you something on the Italian Parliament.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. CASEY: Sorry. Sylvie.

QUESTION: Do you have any comment after the decision of the White House to withdraw its candidate for the post of Ambassador in Belgium?

MR. CASEY: That's something you'd have to ask our friends at the White House about. That's a presidential nomination.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. CASEY: Yeah, Sue.

QUESTION: Do you know if this had anything to do with the Swift Boat contributions?

MR. CASEY: I honestly don't. Again, this was a nominee, hadn't been confirmed, and the reasons for the withdrawal are something you'd have to ask the White House about.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. CASEY: No. Yeah.

QUESTION: The news coming from Israel today say that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has refused Secretary Rice proposal to discuss border, refugees and Jerusalem issues with Palestinians, and he refused the interference of a third party in his contacts with Palestinians. Do you have any clarification on this issue?

MR. CASEY: Well, I'm not sure where those reports are coming from. As you know, part of what the Secretary achieved while she was out in the region was an agreement between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas that they would meet biweekly and would discuss a variety of issues, including both some of the short-term considerations that need to be done to deal with the humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people, to deal with the concerns that the Israelis have about terrorist attacks, but also to discuss the political horizon for the future of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

So I have nothing that indicates that that situation has changed. We look forward to these two leaders meeting and we certainly want to see these conversations moved forward and continue. Obviously, they are going to be the ones who will set the agenda for those discussions and determine what issues they will discuss at what time, but we are certainly going to be there to support those efforts, both not only through the Secretary but through others like General Dayton, who is there on the ground working on some of the very specific and immediate concerns that are out there concerning security and things like the crossings.

So the process is -- that she's launched is moving forward and we're looking forward to seeing it ultimately produce some results.

Sue, do you want to go?

QUESTION: On India. A change.

MR. CASEY: Okay.

QUESTION: Has the U.S. -- there's a U.S. team in New Delhi this week. Have they made any progress in resolving differences on the nuclear cooperation deal?

MR. CASEY: Well, I know that there have been ongoing discussions on some of the specific items that need to be arranged. Certainly there is no final agreement that's been reached, though I do believe they've made some progress on resolving a number of issues there. And this is something that I believe is going to take a little bit of time to work out. These are complex arrangements and it's important that we produce ultimately an agreement that conforms with U.S. law and allows us to move forward with the confidence that both sides need.

QUESTION: But India is insisting on some conditions that are at odds with the U.S. position and also with U.S. law, so are you any closer?

MR. CASEY: Well again, this is something that people are actively discussing and negotiating now. I'd leave it to the folks out there in Delhi that are doing that to describe exactly where the process stands.

Mr. Lambros.

QUESTION: On Greece. Mr. Casey, the former Greek Minister of Public Order Mikhail Chrysochoides, a very close friend of the former Ambassador to Greece Tom Miller, and the chief of the Greek policeChiefTassos Dimoschakis are in Washington for unknown reasons. But -- fortunately there is a but -- I was told Mr. Chrisochoidis is going to have tomorrow a working luncheon here at the State Department with Under Secretary Nicholas Burns. May we know the reason for this meeting and who initiated that?

MR. CASEY: I have absolutely no idea, but I'm sure we can find someone in the Bureau of European Affairs that will tell you. I'm not usually well-versed in the minutia of Under Secretary Burns' schedule.

QUESTION: And one more? May we know if the two gentlemen came to Washington at the invitation of the U.S. Government and particularly by the Department of State?

MR. CASEY: Mr. Lambros, as I said, I have absolutely no information about these individuals or their purpose here or whether, in fact, there's any scheduled meetings. But we'll certainly be able to find out for you.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. CASEY: Yeah, let's go to the back.

QUESTION: Back to North Korea, do you have any updates on the (inaudible)?

MR. CASEY: I was wondering when the daily BDA question would come up. No, I don't. Obviously, our Treasury Department folks -- Danny Glaser and Jim Wilkinson among them -- are still out in China. They're continuing to work through the issues with the banking authorities from China and Macau. Certainly we hope to have this issue resolved soon, but I don't have any new announcements or any kind of updates for you to really offer.

QUESTION: And just to follow up on the 60-day actions, is the State Department concerned at all that the 60-day deadline may not be met?

MR. CASEY: Well, I think we continue to believe that it's certainly reasonable to expect that all the issues that were raised in the February 13th agreement and all the specific actions required will be taken by the end of the 60-day period. We've made it clear in terms of the U.S. Government action on Banco Delta Asia that we've complied with what is within our control, which is the passage of the rule concerning BDA. Obviously, we do want to see this issue resolved in full and that's why we've got our officials in Beijing now to be able to help the Chinese and Macanese work through this.

QUESTION: Can I follow up on that?

MR. CASEY: Sure,

QUESTION: Do you have the impression that the North Koreans get it or do you believe that they are holding off on stopping the Yongbyon facility until that money is transferred?

MR. CASEY: What the North Koreans get or don't get --

QUESTION: Well, I mean in your discussions among the six parties. I mean, is it your understanding that they're holding off on shutting the facility until they get that money or do you have reason to believe it's going to be stopped in short order?

MR. CASEY: My understanding is they're proceeding to honor their commitments under the terms of the agreement and that this is not an obstacle to them doing so. However, it is something that they are very concerned about and very serious about and want to see firmly and finally resolved. We do too, and that's why we're going to keep working on it.

Yeah, want to go back to you again.

QUESTION: Yeah, one more follow up. Did Mr. Glaser meet with the North Koreans again or does he plan to keep meeting with them?

MR. CASEY: I honestly -- I don't have an update on Danny's specific meetings over the last day or so, so you might want to check with Treasury and see what they've got for you.

Let's go over to this gentleman again.

QUESTION: Are you in discussion with the British or do you agree with them in pushing the UN to declare a no-fly zone over Darfur and do you think this could be a practical step to stop the killings there?

MR. CASEY: Well, we continue to be in discussion not only with the British but with other members of the Security Council about what an appropriate response would be under the circumstances in Darfur. We've described and continue to believe that the response we've received from President Bashir in response to the Secretary General's letter to him was very disappointing. And we believe that we need to move forward as quickly as possible with the deployment of the hybrid AU-UN force.

In terms of the specifics of what the Council might opt to do, I'll leave it to our folks up in New York to continue to discuss that. I'm not prepared to make announcements on specific policy options here. Obviously the United States has a number of steps that it might be able to take on its own and certainly we're looking at what might be done to help ensure that the right thing happens here and that we're able to move forward to put that force in place in Darfur.

Mr. Lambros.

QUESTION: On Kosovo. Mr. Casey, how do you comment on today's report that Russia is still considering Martti Ahtisaari's plan, which has given, as you know, de facto independence of Kosovo, Serbia province, since until yesterday Russia was saying that it's going to raise a veto at the UN?

MR. CASEY: Well, I don't think that's how the Russians have characterized their position, but I'll leave it to them to do so. Again, the report was presented to the Secretary General and to the Security Council. Certainly, we expect that there will be a lot of discussion in the Council about it. But again, we believe that the proposals that Mr. Ahtisaari has put forward are the right proposals and we hope that everyone will work to ensure that they're implemented successfully.

QUESTION: One on Turkey. The Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in the long article in the today's Washington Times asking your government not to politicize the Armenian genocide tragedy, as he's saying that -- and that Turkey has no problem facing its past. Any comment in clarifying the U.S. position once again on this issue?

MR. CASEY: The U.S. position on this issue hasn't changed. It's been consistent over time and I don't really have anything to add to it.

QUESTION: Thanks.

MR. CASEY: Thanks.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:12 p.m.)

DPB # 54

Released on March 28, 2007

ENDS

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