Press encounter upon arrival at (unofficial transcript)

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, in light of the escalating violence in the Middle East, do you think that it is even realistic to consider addressing Crown Prince Abdullah's vision for a settlement at this time?

SG: I think the tragic situation should prepare us to continue our search for a solution, and I think as I have said before the [Security] Council, we really need to look at all creative ideas and try to help the parties come back from the brink, and therefore I don't think what has happened should detract us from focusing on the search for a durable solution and attempt to bring the parties to the table and to break the impasse. I believe that it is when the killing is going on that it is even more urgent to intensify the search for peace, and I therefore think that the Crown Prince's ideas are still very useful and should be pursued.

Q: On Iraq, what are your expectations for the meeting on Thursday, and are you concerned the U.S. might launch a strike?

SG: I think I am going to discuss with the Iraqi delegation the implementation of Security Council resolutions and the return of the inspectors. That is the basis on which I am going to discuss with the Iraqis. As far as the U.S. intentions, I cannot speak for Washington. I have no evidence or no communication or indication that the U.S. attack on Iraq is imminent, so I would prefer not to be drawn on that at this stage.

Q: Monsieur le Secretaire-General, en français si vous voulez bien. Le "oui" au referendum sur la décision de la Suisse a été remporté d'une courte majorité hier. Quel est vôtre sentiment, qu'est-ce que vous avez envi de dire aux suisses qui ont voté "non" hier?

SG: Je suis très content que les suisses ont voté "oui". Je suis sur que tous les états membres sont très heureux de recevoir les suisses ici. J'éspère que la Suisse qui a toujours joue un rôle important sur le plan international surtout dans le domaine humanitaire, maintenant peut jouer pleinement [inaudible] comme membre des Nations Unies.

Q: Vous pensez que les inquiétudes sur la neutralité Suisse vont être levées?

SG: Je ne crois pas que ça pose un problème. Je crois que cela a été assez discuté pendant les elections et j'éspère que tout le monde a compris qu'on peut être membre des Nations Unies et avoir sa propre souveraineté, ça n'empêche pas que les suisses aient sa propre politique sur un certain nombre de choses.

Q: Could we have that answer in English, your reaction on the Swiss vote?

SG: I said I am extremely happy that the Swiss have voted to join the United Nations, and I am not the only one. I trust all 189 member states welcome Switzerland with open arms. As to whether this affects Swiss neutrality or not, I believe that their adhesion to the U.N. should not affect Swiss sovereignty and Switzerland as a government is free to exercise its choice within and without the Organization. And so I would hope that once they have joined the UN they would continue to play the very constructive role they have played in humanitarian, developmental and peace efforts with UN agencies and with the UN.

Q: As a resident of New York do you feel that you should have been notified that authorities in Washington were concerned that there was a loose nuclear weapon that could have been detonated in New York in October, and were you notified?

SG: I was not notified and I am not unduly distressed that I was not notified. I don't think I could have done much with the information. What was important was that the authorities who have the responsibility for security did what had to be done.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, on the abuse of children in Africa, are you satisfied with the investigations as they are now, or do you want them to be pursued and to go really to the end of the matter?

SG: We have done a preliminary investigation which was done by the High Commissioner for Refugees and [CARE*]. Now a team is on the ground doing further investigation because the early indications seemed to indicate there were grounds for us to get deeper into the matter. When that report is received, as I have indicated, we will take firm measures and there will be zero tolerance within the U.N. family for this sort of behaviour.

Q: Sir, do you have any indication from the Iraqis ahead of time on whether they are willing to talk about letting inspectors back in.

SG: We will find out. We are only two days away. We will meet on the 7th. It is very much on my agenda. Let's be patient. On the 7th we will know what they think.

Q: What do you think of Washington's attempt to say now it's the time to stop the International Criminal Court tribunals?

SG: I think we have always known that Washington has not fully supported the establishment of international courts, and I think that statement you are referring to is an extension of that debate and that discussion. I don't think there is anything new in it. What I thought was odd was that the attack came at a critical time when Milosevic was on trial in the Hague and in fact the [Security] Council itself was discussing the future of these courts. We do not intend these courts to be everlasting. As soon as we've finished our work those courts will be shut down, and I hope by then the International Criminal Court would have been established.

Q: Mr. Secretary, is there a specific direction you would like to see the United States take in relation to bringing the parties in Israel and Palestine to the negotiation table.

SG: Washington has been active on this issue, and I understand General Zinni may go back. I also know that Assistant Secretary of State Burns is in the region. We as a quartet have been working together - by quartet I mean the United States, the European Union, the Russian Federation, and myself - and we will continue our efforts to try and help the parties come back from the brink. It is an extremely dangerous situation now. I send my deepest sympathies to the families - both Israeli and Palestinian - who have lost loved ones, and I appeal to the leaders to do whatever they can and whatever possible to stop the cycle of violence, this cycle of revenge, where only the innocent and unarmed civilians often get caught in the middle. So we will continue our efforts but I think the leaders also have a role to play.

* The Secretary-General intended to say "Save the Children-UK". *****