SG: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I didn't know there were so many press people in this house! Let me say that the Secretary of State and I have had a very good discussion this afternoon, going over a whole range of issues and trouble spots around the world, and UN reform, as well as the UN-US relationship, which we believe is on a very good footing, particularly now that we have removed the main irritation that we have had for some time - the financial debate.
I am also extremely happy that the Secretary of State's first visit outside the US is to the UN. His first foreign visit is here and we are very happy.
Powell: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary-General. It is a great pleasure for me to have had this opportunity to exchange views with you. This is my first visit outside of Washington to another land, which happens to be the land in which I was born and raised, so it is not that far away, since I became Secretary of State. I took the opportunity this afternoon in our conversation to express to the Secretary-General our strong support, the President's strong support, of the work of the UN, and we look forward to working very closely with the Secretary-General and our other colleagues within the UN - the other member nations - in dealing with the various problems that exist in the world today. But also to take advantage of the great opportunities that exist - the spread of freedom and democracy and the opportunities to bring wealth to the people of the world, to allow people to reach out and touch their dreams and to be successful. So it is a time of challenge, a time of opportunity, but also a time of risk and danger. We know the important role the UN will play and we look forward to working with the Secretary-General and his colleagues.
I am also pleased that we have removed that irritant that existed in the relationship between the United States and the United Nations - the funding problem- and I would like to express my congratulations to the Secretary-General and to his staff, especially to our former Perm Rep, Dick Holbrooke, Ambassador Dick Holbrooke, for the superb work that he performed, and the members of the US-UN Mission who supported him in that effort, and especially Ambassador Cunningham who is now representing us here so well.
Mr. Secretary-General, it is a great pleasure to be with you, and I look forward to many more such meetings. Thank you.
SG: We will take a few questions.
Q: Mr. Secretary, the UN and Iraq plan some talks later this month. What is Washington prepared to give the Secretary-General some manoevering room regarding his negotiations, or does Washington believe these talks will do nothing to solve this decade-long stalemate?
Powell: I think talks can always be useful, and it would be presumptuous of me to suggest to the Secretary-General what he might or might not talk about. I think what is clear is that there are UN resolutions in effect, UN resolutions that bind Iraq and have been telling the Iraqi regime for the last ten years that what they have to do is to get rid of the weapons of mass destruction that we know they have been developing and have had over the years. We believe it is necessary for peace in the region, and to protect the children of the region, to protect the citizens of the region, for Saddam Hussein and his associates to come forward and to allow inspectors in, so that they can verify that the weapons are no longer there, that they claim are no longer there.
And so I am sure this will be a subject that the Secretary-General will discuss with the Iraqi representatives. The United States, at the same time, under President Bush's leadership, we are reviewing our policy in the region, both with respect to our responsibilities as a member of the United Nations, as well as our individual policies with respect to Iraq. So, I hope that the Iraqi representative comes with new information that will show their willingness and desire to comply with the UN resolutions and become a progressive member of the world community again.
Q: On Iraq as well, is the United States policy now under the new administration guided exclusively by the resolutions of the United Nations? Can you explain what are streamlined sanctions that are being referred under the so-called "Powell Doctrine"?
Powell: The "Powell Doctrine" - thank you very much!
With respect to US policy, when it comes to our role as a member of the Security Council, we obviously are bound by the UN resolutions and we are not trying to modify those. We are trying to find ways to make sure that the will of the international community is met by the Iraqi leadership, and so we are constantly looking at ways to make it possible for us to be assured that there are no weapons of mass destruction and there are programmes under way that would produce weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, do it in a way that does not hurt the Iraqi people. We have sympathy for the people of Iraq. We have sympathy for the children of Iraq. We see a regime that has more than enough money to deal with the problems that exist in that society. If only they would use that money properly, if they would see that all of the people of Iraq are benefiting from the money that they have, more money that they had ten years ago. And so that is our goal, to make sure that Iraq complies with the arms control agreements it entered into, and let's move on beyond this, and the burden of this is in Baghdad. The initiative should be in Baghdad, for them to do what is required and what is right.
Q: Mr. Secretary, you are just about to visit the Middle East, and obviously the situation has deteriorated very rapidly there in recent days. Do you think that the UN, and in particular the Secretary-General, using his good offices, has a role to play in trying to bring back things from the abyss?
Powell: Oh absolutely. And if you are specifically talking about the situation in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza, that is very, very troubling, and the Secretary-General and I have been in constant communication with one another. I think I might say, without danger of contradiction, is that both of us have been talking to leaders in the region, and encouraging them to act as leaders and statesmen, to get the violence down. To get the violence down, to get the economic activity moving again, so that people see hope in their lives once again, and only then can we move on to see what the next step is in the quest for peace. In this particular period, we are waiting for the Israeli Prime Minister-designate to form his new government, even more than any other period this is a time for restraint, a time for patience, a time for everybody to control their passions, and not to keep moving in the direction that gets us on an escalating scale of violence that does nothing but see peoples' lives destroyed. And so we are encouraging all sides, and we are encouraging all other nations in the region, and all those nations that can help with the economic problems that the Palestinians are facing, to do everything they can now, for restraint, security, and giving a sense of hope to the Palestinian people by providing economic assistance.
Q: Mr. Secretary, what are your views on the International Criminal Court?
Powell: As you know, the United States, the Bush administration, does not support the International Criminal Court. President Clinton signed the Treaty, but we have no plans to send it forward to our Senate for ratification.
Q: Mr. Secretary, what message does it give the United Nations that your administration has not yet named a UN Ambassador, a Permanent UN Ambassador?
Powell: It shouldn't cause the United Nations here in New York any concern whatsoever. It takes us a while in our process to come up with people for jobs. I am still the only new official in the State Department, and I can tell you that, while I am surrounded by superb colleagues in the professional service, I am still a little bit lonely. I am anxious for new people to be appointed. But I assured the Secretary-General earlier that this process is well under way and he will, in the not too distant future, see the naming of a Permanent Representative who, I am confident, will do a superb job.
Q: Are you going to support the Secretary-General for a second term?
Powell: I don't know if he wants a second term. We will have to wait for him to speak first. *****