State Dept. Daily Press Briefing April 24, 2007

Daily Press Briefing
Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
April 24, 2007

INDEX:

IRAN
Missing American Mr. Levinson
Background on David Belfield / Association to Mr. Levinson
Working with Other Countries to Determine Mr. Levinson's
Whereabouts
Iranian Security Apparatus / Monitoring of Individuals on Kish
Island
Diplomatic Interaction not Ruled out Between US & Iran at Upcoming
Neighbors Conference
Explanation of Initial Release of Mr. Levinson's Name to Press
No Evidence to Indicate Mr. Levinson cannot communicate

IRAQ
Iraq Neighbors Conference / International Compact for Iraq Meeting
/ No Quartet Meeting Planned for Upcoming Trip to Middle East

INDIA
U.S. Seeking to Expand & Deepen Ties with Indian Government
Watching the Bangladesh Situation Closely

ETHIOPIA/SOMALIA
Readout of Secretary's Meeting with Ethiopian Foreign Minister /
Message on Somalia
Violence & Intense Fighting in Mogadishu
Regional Politics
A/S Frazer Meeting with Ethiopian Foreign Minister
Role of Ethiopian Forces in Somalia / Stabilizing Security
Situation
Stabilize Security Situation / Workable Political Situation

TURKEY
Presidential Elections

ARMENIA
Nomination of U.S. Ambassador Pending Confirmation by Senate

DEPARTMENT
Secretary Rice's Thorough, Complete Responses Sent to Chairman
Waxman
Secretary's Upcoming Travel Schedule
Answers to Chairman Waxman's Inquiries Were Also Provided During
Confirmation Process / Part of Public Record

RUSSIA
Secretary Traveling to Moscow Mid-May
Aware of Russian Government's Reservations of Ahtissari Plan
Time to Craft Durable Solution

TRANSCRIPT:

12:10 p.m. EST

MR. MCCORMACK: Good afternoon, everybody. Don't have any opening statements, so we can get right into your questions. Who wants to start? Anybody up here?

Okay, good, all right, go ahead.

QUESTION: Can you give us the latest on Levinson, what outreach you've made to other governments, that kind of thing?

MR. MCCORMACK: Sure, let me recap for the folks. Over the weekend, we sent another note via the Swiss to the Iranians reiterating our request for information regarding Mr. Levinson's whereabouts. We also cited in that note various news stories that have popped up in the past couple of weeks concerning meetings with an individual that he might have had on Kish Island, the fact that he may have been arrested by Iranian security forces. Again, these are news reports that we can't validate, but we thought that they certainly merited the Iranian authorities looking into them and perhaps they could provide the Iranian authorities some leads as to where Mr. Levinson might be.

We have also asked two European countries to work on Mr. Levinson's behalf, knock on doors in Tehran to see if they can determine any information that might lead to determining Mr. Levinson's whereabouts. We've also contacted another country outside of Europe to assist in that regard, so that's where we stand. We still don't have what we would consider reliable information about his whereabouts and that's why we're working so hard to try to get out of the Iranian Government anything that they might know about where Mr. Levinson is.

QUESTION: Can I follow up?

MR. MCCORMACK: Sure.

QUESTION: This individual that's mentioned in these news reports, he's spoken to the Financial Times, he's also spoken to Fox News.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: This is David Belfield.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: He's an FBI fugitive.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: Can you tell me a bit more about him and whether you can give any credence to his accounts?

MR. MCCORMACK: Right. Well, he's, as I understand it, wanted for murder in the United States and he's a long-time fugitive. The FBI's had some interest in seeing him return back to the United States to stand trial. We don't, as far as I know, have any contact with Mr. Belfield. You might check to see the FBI -- check with the FBI to see whether or not they have had any recent efforts to get him to return back to the United States. I can't vouch for the account that Mr. Belfield provided to the Financial Times as well as others that he met with Mr. Levinson. I can't invalidate it, but I can't confirm it for you. We sent along to the Iranians a citation from a news report that mentioned that Mr. Levinson might have met with Mr. Belfield, so again, that's an avenue that the Iranian authorities could pursue themselves.

QUESTION: Do you have reason to believe that they did not pursue these leads --

MR. MCCORMACK: We don't know, Matt. You know, we --

QUESTION: -- based on your original request?

MR. MCCORMACK: We don't know, Matt, but it certainly -- they came back to us and said, "Well, we don't have any information about the person that you mentioned." I find that hard to believe, but you know, again, in doing everything that we can to seek out information on behalf of Mr. Levinson's family, to make sure that he is returned safely to his family, we're going to do everything we can. If that means going back to the Iranian authorities and citing news stories suggesting that the Iranian authorities -- to the Iranian authorities that they might provide some leads as to Mr. Levinson's whereabouts and what might have happened to him, then we're going to do it. We're also going to work with other countries to see what we can do to determine whatever information we can find out about where he may be.

QUESTION: Why won't you disclose who you're asking for help? What's the reasoning behind that?

MR. MCCORMACK: You know, at this point, we don't think it really helps the situation. There are a couple -- there are some countries that are willing to help us out. We don't really think that it furthers the cause of their being able to perhaps obtain information in an informal way via their contacts in the Iranian Government, for us to cite them in public.

QUESTION: Have you found out any more information as to why Mr. Levinson met with the U.S. consulate in Dubai before going on to Kish Island? And secondly, why do you find it so hard to believe that the Iranians can't find any trace of him? I mean, you don't need a visa to go into Kish. Why would they know anyway?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, just given the nature of the Iranian security apparatus, we find it hard to believe that even though you don't need a visa to arrive on Kish Island, that they don't in some way monitor the comings and goings of individuals on Kish Island, including foreign nationals. That may be making an assumption that gives them too much credit in terms of their ability to monitor those things, but I would find it surprising, given the nature of the Iranian security apparatus, that they don't have some idea about the comings and goings of foreigners on Kish Island. As for his meeting at the consulate, I don't have any particular information to offer, Sue. I can't tell you the exact nature of the conversation.

QUESTION: So what -- do you have any other information that you can give us? Have you managed to work out exactly what he was doing on Kish Island?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, we have not. No.

QUESTION: Sean --

MR. MCCORMACK: There have been a lot of newspaper reports speculating about it. But I think that until we have a chance to talk to Mr. Levinson, we're not going to know exactly what his private business was.

QUESTION: So is this for privacy reasons, though, that you're not releasing the information or because you just don't know?

MR. MCCORMACK: About what he was doing for --

QUESTION: Yes.

MR. MCCORMACK: No, we just don't -- I can't -- we've had fragmentary accounts of what he may have been doing there on private business. But you know, again, it's not something that I would feel solid enough about offering to you as a definitive explanation of why he was going to Kish Island.

QUESTION: But can you say definitely that he was not doing the business of the U.S. Government?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes, he was working -- he was there on private business.

QUESTION: Can you rule out the possibility at this stage of being -- he's in Iranian custody?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, I can't. No, I can't rule it out. We don't know where he is. As we have said before, we suspect that he is in Iran and we make that assumption based on the fact that he did not come out from Kish Island the way he went in, that in order to get into Iran you would need a visa and to our knowledge he did not have a visa to go into Iran proper.

QUESTION: Sean, at the Iraq conference next week with the Secretary, if she happened to run into the Iranians on the sidelines of the conference, would she raise this issue with him?

MR. MCCORMACK: Again, I haven't ruled out any particular diplomatic interaction. I don't know if the Iranians are going to be there. They haven't confirmed to the Iraqis that they are going to attend the neighbors' conference. It would be too bad if they didn't show up. It would be an opportunity for them to express their support for Iraq -- something that they said that they would like to do. Again, we will see what diplomatic opportunities there are. I'm not going to point you in the direction of the Secretary seeking out a conversation with her Iranian counterpart or the Iranian representative at the meeting. I'm not going to rule it out.

QUESTION: Would you consider this case at the top of an agenda that she might have, you know, to present to the Iranians?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, there are a lot of issues between Iran and the rest of the world and we, of course --

QUESTION: Right. Beyond the other -- I mean, obvious one.

MR. MCCORMACK: There are a number of different issues and this could be something that would be -- that would merit a U.S. representative bringing up with the Iranian Government should the opportunity present itself. But I'm not going to state that that is, in fact -- that would, in fact, be the case.

QUESTION: Can I ask you a technical question?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.

QUESTION: I'm assuming -- and please correct me if I'm wrong -- that Mr. Levinson has not signed a Privacy Act waiver. And so I'm just wondering then when exactly did the point get reached in this case where you decided it was okay to use his name and start speaking about things that in the early stages of this that you --

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: -- weren't willing to do?

MR. MCCORMACK: It came about because his name started appearing in the press and others cited -- anonymous sources cited the fact that he was, in fact, the person. And typically with these sorts of cases, when you do get to that point where it has been commonly -- where it is a common knowledge in the press and has been reported many times over in the press that that is, in fact, the person then we decided to take the step to go ahead and acknowledge that that was the person.

QUESTION: You said that these third countries are knocking on certain doors.

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.

QUESTION: What doors are they knocking on? I mean, where are they trying to find the information? Are they looking at morgues, for example? I mean, are you exploring the possibility that maybe he died when he was there?

MR. MCCORMACK: We look forward to seeing him back reunited with his family. I can't tell you exactly what resources these embassies might have. They're there on the ground and I'm sure that they have a number of formal and informal contacts with members of the Iranian Government. And we're asking them to use those contacts to see what they can find out.

QUESTION: What makes you so confident that he's alive?

MR. MCCORMACK: Again, we have no evidence to the contrary of that. And, you know, we need to operate on the basis that he will be reunited with his family in the near future, we hope.

QUESTION: The longer that he's missing is it the more likely is it that he's possibly involved now in a hostage situation, that he's being held hostage by someone or is that something you think is a possibility?

MR. MCCORMACK: Look, I will say it over again, we don't know where he is. That is why we are going through this exercise with the Iranian Government and as well as other governments now to try to determine his whereabouts. I can't rule out for you that he is, in fact, being held by the Iranian Government. We don't know. We'd like to get to the bottom of it.

QUESTION: Is it a fact that in any case like this, in the absence of any evidence suggesting that the person is -- the missing person has passed away, you go with the assumption that they are alive?

MR. MCCORMACK: I think that you have to operate on the basis, as you point out with any of these cases, that the person is being held or in some circumstances beyond their control where they can't reach out to their family.

QUESTION: Well, what I'm getting at is there isn't something in this particular case that makes you think that this is just an assumption that goes to all cases like this.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right, and there's no evidence to indicate otherwise.

QUESTION: Well, is there evidence to suggest that --

MR. MCCORMACK: We don't know --

QUESTION: -- something to the contrary?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, we don't know where he is. But there is no evidence to suggest that he isn't in a situation where he just can't communicate with us or with his family.

Yes, Goyal.

MR. MCCORMACK: Anything else on this? Okay.

QUESTION: Sean, as far as the India-U.S. relations are concerned, many trips are taking place to India and from the U.S. to India, including Secretary -- Energy Secretary and Under Secretary Burns and FAA Administrator is now there and also came here with them and the other -- and (inaudible) rather than wait for a trade and (inaudible) delegation. So what's going on now? All these trips are taking place not only (inaudible). Is there something going on between the two countries more than what has taken place in this civil nuclear agreement?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, we have as you know, Goyal, we've sought to expand and deepen our ties with India and that covers a lot of different areas, from energy to transportation to diplomatic contacts. You mentioned Karen Hughes to the arena of public diplomacy. So it's an overall effort by our government as well as the Indian Government to expand and deepen our relationship. It's been part of the strategy outlined by President Bush early on in his administration and we're starting to see some of the results of those efforts right now.

QUESTION: Just a quick follow -- entertainment question. Actor Rick --

MR. MCCORMACK: Richard Gere.

QUESTION: Richard Gere, he's in trouble in India because of the public stage.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: My question is a quick one because there's anger among Indians there because what had taken place by him there in India on a public stage. Is the U.S. Embassy has flooded with any angry phone calls or the State Department?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't know, Goyal. I really don't know.

QUESTION: I have a couple different things. First, sorry if I missed it. Did you give a readout of the Secretary's meeting with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister yesterday? Can you give a sense of her message on Somalia? It's my first a question.

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, they had a good discussion about Somalia and the situation there. And the Ethiopian Foreign Minister underlined what the Ethiopian officials have underlined to us several times over and that is that they have no desire to stay there any longer than they are needed. They want to have an AU force in there that is capable of providing a secure environment where you can actually get to a political situation. And those two things are mutually reinforcing -- having a stable security environment as well as an open and inclusive political dialogue. I think progress along both of those tracks will help the other.

But we also don't want to see and they don't want to see a vacuum open up in Somalia in the wake of a precipitous withdrawal by Ethiopian forces. So what is needed now is for the AU to generate the forces necessary to go in there and supplement the Ugandan forces. And part of our job as well as the job of others with an interest in seeing a different kind of Somalia is to help with the resource end of that because you may have willing AU forces, but they don't have either the equipment or the required training in order to go into Somalia and perform the kind of mission that the Ethiopians are performing.

The Foreign Minister talked about the fact that there has been violence in Mogadishu, but he believes that the levels of violence are becoming more sporadic in that there are pockets of some of the former members of the Islamic courts who are continuing to fight Ethiopian forces. There have been unfortunately some civilians who've lost their lives in that and the Ethiopian Government assured us that they take every possible step to -- in all of their operations to ensure that there's no loss of innocent life. The Secretary emphasized that that is quite important when you're engaged in these kinds of operations. They also talked a little bit about the regional politics and they talked about the -- the Secretary underlined the importance of working with the Eritrean Government to define the border between the two countries. That was really -- those were sort of the high points.

QUESTION: Can I just follow up?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.

QUESTION: Did they talk about a timeframe for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, they didn't talk about a timeframe. No.

QUESTION: Do you agree with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister's assessment as you just said that the violence in Mogadishu is becoming more sporadic? That seems to be a (inaudible) stretch --

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, it's --

QUESTION: -- considering what's happened over the last three days.

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, it is more -- it is -- the violence is centered in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia. It is more stable and more calm. There are still intense exchanges between the former members of the Islamic Courts, other associated with them, and the Ethiopian forces. But that isn't, you know, to say that it is more sporadic is not to say it is any less intense.

QUESTION: Does it concern you at all that your little -- your opening readout -- your opening statements with the exception of some -- of the proper names could have applied exactly to the situation in Iraq? Does that bother -- does that concern you at all?

MR. MCCORMACK: I'm not sure I see your point, Matt.

QUESTION: That the Ethiopians say that they don't want to stay there any longer than they're needed, but they don't want to leave a vacuum. It just sounds --

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: -- an awful lot like they're taking a page from the Administration's thoughts on what to do in Iraq.

MR. MCCORMACK: No. I mean, they're --

QUESTION: But I guess -- so my question is, are you concerned that they might be seeing the beginning or the -- in fact, the middle of an Iraq-style insurgency going on maybe -- obviously not directed at U.S. soldiers, but the same kind of thing. Are you concerned about that?

MR. MCCORMACK: The situations are completely separate. They are -- each is sui generis

but you are in each case concerned about leaving the field to a group of violent extremists who do not have an interest in building up the institutions of a democratic state, so in that sense, there are similarities. I think certainly the specifics of each situation are quite different and the histories are quite different. And I think the level of intensity of the fighting in Iraq is quite different than you're seeing in Somalia and the scale of it is a lot smaller.

That said, certainly, the types of operations that the Ethiopian troops are engaged in and the kind of outreach to communities and the importance of the political component to resolving the underlying circumstances that lead to violence are the classic counterinsurgency kinds of operations and certainly, the Ethiopians understand that as well.

QUESTION: I still have problems with your saying that it is -- or the Ethiopians saying it's more sporadic. I mean, there's been seven days of intense fighting, shelling in Mogadishu, half a million people have been forced out of the city, they're sheltering under trees, a humanitarian crisis is evolving.

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I think that there are a lot of differences over that number, Sue, over the number of displaced persons. You know I'm not in a position to tell you exactly the numbers, but I think the Ethiopians would tell you it's a quite different number. Now I point that out not to say that I know exactly what the number is, but I'm not sure that the people generating the half million figure are actually in Mogadishu at this point.

Look, there's intense fighting. It's -- I meant to -- perhaps I used the wrong word, but I meant to try to convey to you that this is not -- or as we understand it, fighting that is throughout all of Mogadishu, that it is intense fighting, yet it is limited to certain areas of Mogadishu. That doesn't mean that it hasn't created displaced -- that it hasn't resulted in displaced persons going to the outskirts of Mogadishu.

QUESTION: Did you discuss the humanitarian, sort of, crisis, as some people are saying it, with the Ethiopians and how aid could reach those who need it because there have been reports the Ethiopians have been, you know, holding up aid getting to the right people and --

MR. MCCORMACK: It wasn't a topic of conversation with the Secretary, but Jendayi Frazer had a lot of -- had extensive meetings with the foreign minister both before and after the meeting with the Secretary. And the humanitarian aid is always at the top of our list and we are quite concerned about the humanitarian situation. We have been for a couple of decades in Somalia, so that is not, in fact, new, that you have people who are wanting and suffering as a result of violence.

Look, the Ethiopian forces went in there to assist with a problem of violent extremism that was growing in Somalia. It was becoming more of a threat to the Somali people, it was becoming more of a threat to the region. And if you're going to actually get to the root causes of the problem, you need to help stabilize the security situation, which is what the Ethiopian troops are doing, but most importantly, you need to get to the underlying political conflicts that result in this kind of violence, the clan warfare.

You heard from Jendayi Frazer yesterday -- that's why she went to Baidoa, that's the message the Ethiopians are sending, that is the message that the Somalia Contact Group is sending. That the they need -- the TFG, the Transitional Government, needs to reach out and be as inclusive as it possibly can and to all of those who have an interest in a different kind of Somalia, in building up institutions of governance that are responsive to the people as opposed to dictating to the people and serving only their interest, the interest of the government.

QUESTION: Are you calling for a ceasefire in Somalia or are you urging the Ethiopians to go for these insurgents with as much intensity as they could?

MR. MCCORMACK: You don't want to see any more violence in Somalia. Everybody would like that to be the case, but there are clearly people there, individuals who are intent upon using violence in order to further a so-called political cause. And we have seen that in other areas around the world. And what can't be allowed to happen is for those forces to gain a foothold to develop a safe haven from which they could possibly launch attacks against other states in the region and further.

QUESTION: So you're not calling for a ceasefire?

MR. MCCORMACK: We want to see an end to the violence. But the real way to get an end to the violence is (a) stabilize the security situation and (b) find a political situation that is workable for the major political factions in Somalia life that have an interest in actually building a different kind of Somalia as opposed to the one we've seen for the past few decades.

Yes, Nicholas.

MR. MCCORMACK: Sean, Jendayi Frazer was very frank yesterday about Eritrea's role in opposing just about everything that Ethiopia does. I wonder if they came up with the meeting with the Secretary. And Jendayi said that she hadn't talked to Eritrean officials about this, but is there anything the United States is doing to use perhaps international, multinational fora to get Eritrea to be a more responsible player in African affairs?

MR. MCCORMACK: The most recent effort at that was I know the boundary conference discussions in London -- that was -- I can't tell you how many months ago. I'm not aware of any recent efforts, Nicholas.

QUESTION: And it didn't come up -- Eritrea as --

MR. MCCORMACK: They discussed generally the relationship with Eritrea, but it focused mostly on the demarcation of the boundary and that whole process and trying to get that process rolling again.

QUESTION: There's a delegation of the Cambodian national police chief Hok Lundy telling us at VOA Khmer that they're meeting with State Department officials today. Can you tell us who they're meeting with, what they're discussing and whether Hok Lundy will be rebuked for his poor human rights record?

MR. MCCORMACK: Let me check for you.

QUESTION: Turkey's Foreign Minister today was nominated by the ruling party as their candidate for the presidency. He has worked closely with the United States in the past four years and he's likely get elected. Any comments by any chance?

MR. MCCORMACK: I'm not going to jump into Turkish domestic politics. The Turkish people will choose the person that they think is best to lead them as president.

QUESTION: Speaking of Turkish domestic politics, the White House just in the last ten minutes put out its annual statement about the deaths of Armenians at the last stages of the Ottoman Empire. And there was a story about a former Ambassador to Armenia losing his job for using the "g" word in reference to this. What can you -- can you tell us anything about this situation?

MR. MCCORMACK: As far as I know, he's either retired or retiring from the Foreign Service and there's a new ambassador that is nominated to take over as our representative in Armenia.

QUESTION: So his departure from Yerevan had nothing to do with the --

MR. MCCORMACK: No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that he's no longer in that job.

He's -- I can't tell you --

QUESTION: Can you explain to us to perhaps why he is no longer in that job?

MR. MCCORMACK: You know, every person here, every political appointee -- Assistant Secretary, I -- serve at the pleasure of the President and the Secretary of State. And it is their right to choose who will represent the United States not only in these jobs, but abroad.

QUESTION: You're speaking for the Secretary of State, right?

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: I mean, can you tell us why she decided that he should no longer stay on the job?

MR. MCCORMACK: Nicholas, this is history. I'm not going to -- we've talked about this in the past. As far as we are concerned, it is an issue that is in the rearview mirror. We have a nominee for ambassador to Armenia. It's currently up on the Hill, pending nomination by the Senate and we look forward to having him be able to -- again, pending confirmation, by the Senate -- be able to take up his duties in Yerevan.

QUESTION: Well, I'm sorry, what is history? What happened back in 1915 or what happened with this specific person?

MR. MCCORMACK: This specific person.

QUESTION: Oh, it's been discussed before?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.

QUESTION: It has? I didn't know that. I wasn't aware of that.

MR. MCCORMACK: Michel.

QUESTION: Sean, do you expect any Quartet meeting in the Middle East soon?

MR. MCCORMACK: Soon, as in next trip to the Middle East, no. I expect that there will be a Iraq neighbors' conference and an International Compact for Iraq meeting. But there's no Quartet meeting that's planned for that trip. But I expect that at some point, there will probably be a Quartet meeting in the region that's been planned and discussed. But we have not yet set a date or a venue for the meeting.

Janine.

QUESTION: Sean, Congressman Waxman is having a hearing tomorrow to decide whether to subpoena Secretary Rice.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: Any comments on that?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, this has been an ongoing story for some time. Congressman Waxman has had a series of questions for Secretary Rice. And we started out at some 50-plus questions. I think we've narrowed it down to about three. And we will be providing a response to those last three questions I expect later this afternoon to Chairman Waxman and his committee. Look, I can only assume that members of Congress would rather have the Secretary of State be focused on issues of war and peace.

Just to go over her calendar a little bit in the coming month here, she's going to leaving tomorrow for Oslo for a NATO Foreign Ministers meeting which they're going to talk about issues like Kosovo and Afghanistan and the support for our NATO allies' efforts -- efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. She's going to be traveling to the Middle East for the Iraq neighbors' conference and the International Compact for Iraq. She's also going to -- in May -- going to be traveling to the Middle East to meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials to see if we can find a way forward to try to bring peace to that region. She's going to be traveling to Moscow to talk to Foreign Minister Lavrov about issues related to Iran and U.S.-Russia relations.

So she can be doing those things or she can be testifying before Chairman Waxman's committee about an issue that has been about as investigated as an issue can possibly be investigated and all the answers are out there and a number of different commission reports, whether that's in Department of Defense Inspector General reports or the Silverman-Robb Commission. So these -- this is a four-year old issue that has been as investigated as any in the past four years. If you can find one that has been more investigated on the national security front, more than this one, I'm certainly open to ideas, but I don't think you're going to find one.

QUESTION: Sean, are you saying that you -- that if she is subpoenaed that she won't appear?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, we'll deal with that question if we actually get to that point. I would hope that Chairman Waxman, when he has an opportunity to review the response from the State Department --

QUESTION: This afternoon.

MR. MCCORMACK: -- this afternoon, that he'll see that all of these questions have been in fact answered before. I know that, for example, the questions on Nigerian uranium, that seems to be a focus of Chairman Waxman in this regard, are questions that were answered by Senator Levin at the end of Secretary Rice's confirmation process and we have provided answers to, I think, almost precisely the same questions in detail to Senator Levin. So we will be providing all the information. Secretary Rice is committed to providing the Congress the information it needs to do its job. She is -- spends a lot of time up on the Hill, spends a lot of time with members of Congress, talking about various issues. She's up there today talking to members of the Finance Committee and that's not unusual to find her up there or having members of Congress down here to work on issues related to foreign policy at the State Department.

QUESTION: So it's your view that a rational, right thinking mind would see that your answers to be provided this afternoon would obviate any need for a subpoena?

MR. MCCORMACK: I think we're --

QUESTION: This is a simple yes or no.

MR. MCCORMACK: -- we're giving thorough answers. We're giving complete answers and certainly we -- I don't think it -- I think it would be hard for a member of Congress to take a look at the body of information that we have provided on a four-year-old issue and decide that this is worthy of a subpoena for the Secretary of State.

QUESTION: Sean, you're willing to provide, you know, these thorough, complete answers and writing. Why is the Secretary unwilling to talk about it publicly in front of his committee?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, she has talked about these issues in public. She's talked about these issues with members of the media. She has answered questions to commissions on this. I mean, it really gets down to a matter of exactly what are the motivations here. I would have to say that I'm mystified as to the motivations. You have an issue related to Nigerian uranium, as we have said, as I have talked about, that has been investigated, you know, up, down, and all around. The answers are out there. Secretary Rice's personal views on the matter, her personal connection as National Security Advisor at the White House is a matter of the public record, so I'm not sure what these questions about a four-year-old issue have to do with her job as Secretary of State. The questions as I understand it really center around her duties as National Security Advisor and the questions have been asked. They've been answered many, many times over. So I'm not sure what any of this has to do with her job as Secretary of State and I can't tell you the motivation here.

QUESTION: Do you think -- I mean, is he just trying -- is Congressman Waxman trying to score some political points? Are you willing to say that?

MR. MCCORMACK: Libby, you know, you should ask Chairman Waxman. I'm not sure. I know that Secretary Rice has a lot on her plate as Secretary of State, and I'm not quite sure what these questions about her job four years ago and a four-year-old controversy that has been thoroughly investigated have to do with her current-day duties.

QUESTION: He says that she did not -- has not clarified publicly what she knew personally about the Niger claim and when it went into the speech. That's what his response has been to all the pages you've sent.

MR. MCCORMACK: Those questions -- those very same questions, very same questions, were asked about Senator Levin as part of her confirmation process. Those answers were provided prior to the Senate voting on her confirmation. So it is a matter of public record with the Senate. And she's also talked about this issue many times over in public, talked to a lot of journalists about it. So there's a massive public record on this issue, including Secretary Rice's remembrances on the issue and her involvement in her former capacity as National Security Advisor.

QUESTION: When does Secretary Rice plan to visit Moscow? And secondly, sort of related, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia says that Russia will not support UN resolution on Kosovo and that they will veto it -- that's the independence resolution, of course.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right. I expect Secretary Rice will visit Moscow mid-May as part of her swing through the Middle East to meet with the Israelis and Palestinians. We haven't set the exact dates yet, but mid-May.

In terms of Mr. Titov's comments, I've read several news accounts of this. I haven't seen the phrase that "we will veto" in there.

QUESTION: It says --

MR. MCCORMACK: -- in there. I haven't seen it, so --

QUESTION: The quote is "The solution based on a recommendation by Ahtisaari will not pass. The threat of a veto should push the two sides into finding mutually acceptable compromises."

MR. MCCORMACK: He didn't say he would vote -- veto it. Look, the Russian Government has expressed real reservations with the Ahtisaari plan. Everybody knows that. We're well aware of it. They've conveyed those to us in private. They've certainly made it clear in public their reservations about the Ahtisaari plan. And we as well as others on the Security Council are working to try to take into account their concerns. The effort today, the departure of the fact-finding trip that comprises members of the Security Council, ambassadors of the Security Council leaving for Kosovo as part of that, they suggested it, they thought, "Okay, well, that's a fine idea, we can do that." And they're going to report back to the Security Council.

But the issue of Kosovo has been one that has been outstanding for quite some time. It is because of the specific nature of the politics in the Balkans, the history there. It is an inherently unstable solution, so what the Security Council and Mr. Ahtisaari and those working with him in the Contact Group are trying to find their way towards is a sustainable political solution that, while it may not make all parties happy, is one that can work. It is our belief and it is the belief of others on the Security Council, as well as the Contact Group, that the current situation is untenable, that it needs to come to some resolution over time.

Now we are working to try to accommodate the concerns of the Russians, of the Serbian Government as well, but it's time to try to craft a solution that will, over time, be durable.

QUESTION: Does the Secretary have plans to raise this this weekend -- I mean, over the next few days in Norway?

MR. MCCORMACK: I'm sure it's going to be a topic of conversation, yes.

QUESTION: Does the Secretary have a meeting with Lavrov, who also is expected to be in Oslo?

MR. MCCORMACK: There's not a formal bilat scheduled. There's going to be a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council and I would expect that they will see each other and I'm sure -- and either sit down at a table on the side or have a chat in the hallway, but they are going to have an opportunity for a more extended discussion coming up here in May in a couple of weeks.

QUESTION: Sean, two questions on Bangladesh, please. The (inaudible) in Bangladesh has cancelled elections and also is trying to establish dictatorship just similar to in Pakistan by General Musharraf. And a Vice Prime Minister is under house arrest in Bangladesh, second one fled to London and she has not been allowed and she has been told you cannot return to Bangladesh. What's the Secretary feel now as their human rights and dictatorships and also democracy that we're talking about around the globe?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, the situation in Bangladesh is one that we're watching quite closely. There is a caretaker government in place and we have urged that caretaker government to move as expeditiously as possible to elections so the Bangladeshis can exercise their right to vote and choose who is going to lead them in the future and hopefully be able to put these past incidents behind them. It is a case where if not handled properly and if the caretaker government doesn't take the right decisions, then this -- there is a real possibility that this can threaten Bangladeshi democracy and nobody wants to see that.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

QUESTION: I'm sorry.

MR. MCCORMACK: No, that's it.

QUESTION: Anybody from the U.S. Government in touch with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in London?

MR. MCCORMACK: I know our embassy has been in close contact with them and several months ago, Nick Burns talked to them.

QUESTION: Sean, a readout on the meeting between South Korean delegation (inaudible) and Christopher Hill yesterday?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't have any readout of his meetings.

QUESTION: Sean, do you have a readout of the Secretary's meetings on the Hill today and what was discussed?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, I don't have any readout. I haven't talked to her about it.

(The briefing was concluded at 12:51 p.m.)

DPB #72

ENDS

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