US Daily Press Briefing - November 9

Daily Press Briefings : Daily Press Briefing - November 9

Ian Kelly

Department Spokesman
Daily Press Briefing

Washington, DC

November 9, 2009

INDEX:

SECRETARY CLINTON
In Berlin Representing U.S. at 20th Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall
Met with Senior German Officials, Including Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Westerwelle, Greek Prime Minister Papandreou
Met with U.S. Embassy Staff and German Students / Visiting Holocaust Memorial
Traveling to Singapore for APEC Ministerial Meetings, then Philippines / Will Join President in Singapore for APEC Summit

IRAN
Do Not Have Official Confirmation American Hikers in Iran Were Charged / Believe There is No Evidence for These Charges / Request Iranian Government Let Them Return to Their Families / Swiss Protecting Power in Tehran Requesting Consular Access / Most Recently Permitted on October 29
Waiting for Formal Response to IAEA / Continue to Believe This is a Good Agreement which Answers Needs of International Community and of Iranian People / In Close Contact with IAEA / Support Proposal as IAEA Has Presented It / Consulting Closely with P-5+1 Colleagues / No Formal Deadline for Response

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN
U.S. Siding with Governments Seeking to Counter Violent Extremism / Making a Partnership to Help Them Deal with These Groups Between their Borders and Create a Secure Environment

ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS
Focus on Visit of Prime Minister Netanyahu / Committed to Goal of Relaunching Negotiations

DALAI LAMA
Dalai Lama an Internationally Respected Religious Figure / Has Right to Travel and Speak to People

HONDURAS
Negotiators Meeting Today / Talking with View to Formation of National Government of Unity and Reconciliation

PAKISTAN
U.S. Has No Intention of Seizing Pakistani Nuclear Weapons or Material / See Pakistan as Key Ally in Fighting Extremists and Fostering Regional Stability / Working Closely on Important Initiatives Regarding Regional Security / Have Confidence in Ability of Pakistani Government to Provide Security for Nuclear Weapons and Materials

TRANSCRIPT:

1:15 p.m. EST

MR. KELLY: All right. First of all, I want to welcome my old friend, Kerry Cavanaugh, Ambassador Kerry Cavanaugh, and the group of students from the University of Kentucky. You are a former ambassador, right, Kerry?

MR. CAVANAUGH: Yes.

MR. KELLY: Okay, good. Happy to give you a promotion if you weren’t.

I’d like to say a few things at the top about the Secretary’s schedule. You know that she’s in Berlin today, as P.J. mentioned before the previous briefing, representing the U.S. at the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. She’s met with senior German officials, including Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

She also had a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Papandreou. In addition to official events, this evening at the Brandenburg Gate, she met with U.S Embassy staff and with German students who’d been sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and designed a domino for the celebrations in front of the Brandenburg Gate. She also visited the Holocaust Memorial, which is right next to the Embassy.

Tonight, she travels to Singapore. She will participate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ministerial meetings. Then she’ll go to the Philippines, and then she’ll come back to join the President for the APEC summit. At the APEC ministerial meetings, she will discuss with her counterparts measures to strengthen the multilateral trading system, progress on regional and economic integration, and strategies to foster inclusive and sustainable growth in APEC member countries.

At the summit, she’ll support the President’s agenda of encouraging regional peace and security, strengthening economic cooperation, and cooperating on regional and global issues such as economic development, environmental protection, and nonproliferation.

And I’ll be happy to take your questions.

QUESTION: Ian, the three Americans in Iran, the hikers, can you confirm that they have been charged with espionage by Iranian authorities?

MR. KELLY: Well, actually we haven’t received official confirmation that they’ve been charged, and we are continuing to seek information about these press reports. If it is true, that they have been formally charged, we would find this outrageous, and of course, the families would find it devastating. And I think you also heard what the Secretary said a little earlier today: “We believe that there is no evidence for these kinds of charges. We renew our request on behalf of these three young people and their families that the Iranian Government exercise compassion and let them return to their families.” We will continue to make that case, both publicly and privately, through our Swiss protecting power in Tehran.

QUESTION: Are you seeking consular access to the three Americans?

MR. KELLY: Our – the Swiss protecting power, the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, is constantly asking for consular access. And we hope that the Iranian authorities will grant that.

QUESTION: It’s only been one time so far; is that right?

MR. KELLY: I think it’s been several times.

QUESTION: Several?

MR. KELLY: But the most recently --

MR. WOOD: The last one was October 29th.

MR. KELLY: The last one was October 29.

Yes.

QUESTION: Ian, it seems – or actually, al-Qaida and the Taliban groups continue with their predatory, vindictive, and malicious behavior with disdain for others. And what new concrete steps is the Department taking since the Fort Hood-type attacks, and do you view that as a cruel act as well as a symptom of these groups’ hate?

MR. KELLY: Well, I think what we are doing in Afghanistan and Pakistan is we’re siding with the governments there who are seeking to counter the kind of violent extremism that we’ve seen at the – with the Taliban and al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. And we are making a partnership with the governments in – both in Kabul and Islamabad, to try and help them deal with this – with these groups inside their borders and that are crossing between the two countries, and helping them provide a secure environment where the people of Afghanistan and the people of Waziristan can focus on what’s important, and that’s building their country’s infrastructure, providing educational and economic opportunities for their children, and in general, just a more peaceful and prosperous future.

QUESTION: Also with regard to the Fort Hood attack, any links that you see with al-Qaida or the Taliban? And is there now an ongoing media war? Do you plan to also meet with religious leaders, tribal leaders, and others to end this violence?

MR. KELLY: Well, I’m not sure that there is any link between the horrible acts that took place at Fort Hood a couple of days and our ongoing struggle against extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are going to let the Department of Army and Department of Justice conduct their investigations into the motivations behind those terrible attacks on our service members and civilian members.

But you point out an important facet of this overall approach, and that’s the need for inclusiveness, for dialogue, for interfaith discussions, and in general, more tolerance for different points of view.

Michel.

QUESTION: On the peace process, is Senator Mitchell planning to go back to the Middle East, and what are you planning to do after the latest development on the Palestinian side?

MR. KELLY: Well, I think a lot of the focus today, of course, will be on the visit of Prime Minister Netanyahu. He’s meeting with the President tonight. We remain committed to our goal, which is the re-launch of negotiations between the sides and try and create the kind of atmosphere where these negotiations can succeed as soon as possible. As far as Senator Mitchell’s immediate plans, I’m not sure that he has plans in the very near term to return to the region. But of course, he’ll be ready to do so if that can be helpful.

QUESTION: Do you expect anything from the meeting between the President and Prime Minister Netanyahu?

MR KELLY: Well, I’m not going to try and predict what – what’s going to come out of that meeting. I’ll leave that to the White House.

QUESTION: A different topic?

MR. KELLY: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: The Dalai Lama recently visited Arunachal Pradesh, which is disputed between India and China. The Chinese aren’t necessarily happy about that. Is there a U.S. position on the sovereignty of this area and whether the Dalai Lama has the right to visit as a religious leader?

MR. KELLY: Well, I think we don’t – I don’t think we have a position necessarily on his decision to travel to this area. The Dalai Lama, as you suggest, is primarily an internationally respected religious figure. And he, of course, has the right to go wherever he wants and talk to people that he chooses to talk to, and we just don’t see it in any other way than that.

Yeah, Indira.

QUESTION: Hi, Ian. Do you have any update on the discussions about Iran potentially sending its uranium to Turkey as an alternative to Russia, or what the U.S. is pushing for at this point? And also, can you update us on the meeting that was supposed to take place at the end of October between the U.S. and the Iranian side as a follow-up to the early October meeting that never did take place? Has that been rescheduled? Can you give us a full update?

MR. KELLY: Well, I – first of all, we are still waiting for a formal response to the IAEA. I think you’ve seen Director General ElBaradei’s comments that he still hasn’t received an official reply.

We continue to believe that this is a good agreement. It has the support of the international community. It answers a lot of the needs of the international community in terms of increasing our confidence that the Iranians are pursuing what they say they’re pursuing, which is a civil nuclear energy program. But it also meets the stated needs of the Iranian people, their humanitarian and medical needs.

So we, of course, stay in close contact with the IAEA. As far as any details on how this reprocessing will take place, I’d really have to refer you to the IAEA. We – as I said, we support the proposal. And we think that –

QUESTION: Meaning you support the proposal of sending it either to Russia or Turkey or whatever?

MR. KELLY: We support the proposal as the IAEA has presented it. And as I say, we’re still waiting for a formal reply to it. We’re also consulting very closely with our P-5+1 colleagues. And of course, we’re – we hope that Iran will make the next – make the right choice and accept the proposal. But we will consult on next steps if Iran ultimately decides to not take this opportunity.

QUESTION: Is there a deadline for a response?

MR. KELLY: Well, we’re not putting any kind of formal deadline on it, but I think you’ve heard the Secretary say that our patience is not infinite.

Any other on Iran?

QUESTION: On – or on a different –

MR. KELLY: Different topic?

QUESTION: On Honduras.

MR KELLY: Yeah.

QUESTION: Any new initiatives, any new visits to try to salvage the agreement?

MR. KELLY: Well, I think that – we understand that negotiators are meeting today. They’re still talking with a view to, first of all, formation of this national government of unity and reconciliation, which is called for in the agreement. That’s the next step. And if there’s some way that we can be helpful, we’re willing to be helpful, but I don’t have any announcements to make.

Yes.

QUESTION: Do you have any update on the plan for bilateral talks with North Koreans? Have you made any decision?

MR. KELLY: No. I have nothing to announce at this time, unfortunately.

QUESTION: Can I just ask –

MR. KELLY: Yeah, go ahead.

QUESTION: Can I just ask for a comment on – there is a Seymour Hersh report on nuclear weapons in Pakistan, saying that the U.S. is concerned about the safety of nuclear weapons in Pakistan and could try to seize it at a certain point. Is there a comment on that? Is there a plan underway, and are there concerns?

MR. KELLY: Well, first of all, let me just say the U.S. has no intention of seizing Pakistani nuclear weapons or material. We see Pakistan as a key ally in our common effort to fight violent extremists and to foster regional stability. We’re working very closely with Pakistan on a number of important initiatives regarding regional security. We do provide them with assistance, of course, as you know. And as the Secretary has said, we have confidence in the ability of the Pakistani Government to provide adequate security for their nuclear programs and materials. And we have a number of security assistance initiatives that are focused on strengthening counterinsurgency capacities to foster stability.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. KELLY: Okay. Thanks.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:30 p.m.)

ENDS

© Scoop Media