Secretary-General's press encounter upon arrival at Headquarters (unofficial transcript)

Q: Can you address and give us, so that we don't have to give you 50,000 questions, everything you know about Michael Wilson in relation to this email he sent, which indicates that he said he met with you and the “entourage” about the Cotecna contract, and things looked good. And one week later, they got the contract.

SG: I think my Spokesman did give you an indication yesterday and the day before. And Mr. [Paul] Volcker and his group are looking into this, and I will leave him to look into it and get into bottom of the allegations. I don't want to be drawn on this.

Q: Did you ever meet with Mr. Wilson in Paris in 1998?

SG: As I indicated, Mr.Volcker will be looking into all that. I will leave him to it. I would also plead with you to resist the temptation to substitute yourself for the Volcker Commission. Please let him do his work.

Q: Sir, if Mr.Volcker were to find that you did not tell them all that really happened, would you consider then resigning at that point?

SG: That is speculative. I've given them all that I know.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, you've said that the bill before the (US) House of Representatives –the Hyde Bill that would withhold US funding for the UN -- would damage the cause of reform. How do you think it would work in terms of the reaction of Member States that would really sort of impede reform or maybe curtail the whole reform package?

SG: I think it is encouraging that the US is joining with other Member States to reform this Organization and make it as effective as it can. But, you know, this is an Organization of Member States, large and small. And the way we do business here is to discuss and come to an understanding –a broad agreement –and then move forward. So if the US has proposals, they should put it on the table and discuss it with the others. And I think there are lots of proposals on the table now. Now I would encourage the US to engage with the other Member States and come up with a reform package for the Organization, hopefully, when all the heads of state are here in September. I think that is the way to go about it.

Q: I have a three-point question on Lebanon/Syria, please. Now that [Terje] Roed-Larsen had met with President [Bashar al-]Assad, can you tell us what exactly the message was, or the gist of it, that you sent President Assad? And secondly, what do you expect, as far as proof of the goodwill and the constructive steps that you spoke about in referring to that meeting? And thirdly, when will your investigative team begin, actually, work on the death of Mr. [Rafik] Hariri?

SG: Larsen did have a very good discussion with President Assad. I had sent a letter to Assad, through Larsen, urging him that we and the Syrian Government and all the parties concerned work together for the full implementation of [Security Council] resolution 1559. And Larsen did get the assurance that they are prepared to work with us to fully implement 1559. And we are going to maintain the engagement.

And we have a team on the ground –the investigative team in operational. It's operational as of today. Mr. Detlev Mehlis went in ahead, with a small team, but we've strengthened the team as days have gone by and, as of today, it is fully operational.

Q: Let me clarify something, Sir, please. What is it that you expect from the Syrians in practical measures, in order to test them on the goodwill or commitment to doing …

SG: I think the resolution was very clear, from our point of view, about the withdrawal of Syrian troops and security forces. And we had worked on verifying their withdrawal. Recently, we've been told there were other elements that may have gone back to Lebanon and the verification team is back, verifying that. And I hope that, at the end of their day, we will be able to give a report that will indicate what is happening or not happening. And it is important for all concerned that they respect resolution 1559.

Q: It's the birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi this weekend. She's still under house arrest. Do you have a message for the Myanmar Government, and is enough pressure being put on them?

SG: Let me first wish her a happy birthday. It is unfortunate that she is celebrating it under the circumstances that one would not have wished for her, a leader of her party. And I wish she were out amongst her people and her supporters, pushing for stability and democracy and democratization of her society.

I have had a chance to raise this issue with General Than Shwe, and I will still urge him to release her and let her join her party, and join the process on the national dialogue and national reconciliation.

Q: On Iraq, Sir, your efforts now, if you could give us a sense of what you're doing in terms of trying to get some stability there. And then, just a quick question on Kojo: Are you trying to encourage him to do something in terms of cooperating with the Volcker Commission?

SG: Let me say, on the first question as to what we are doing in Iraq, we have a strong team there, working with the Iraqi authorities on the drafting of the constitution. They will be able to help facilitate discussions, perhaps suggest some drafts, and basically support their effort. We have a good team leader, and my Special Representative is also urging an inclusive process reaching out to all the parties, and doing whatever we can to help move the process along, and make it as inclusive as possible. We are also planning ahead in working with them on the referendum. After the resolution is drafted, you have to have a referendum to adapt the resolution, and then there will be a subsequent election at the end of the year. So we are also strengthening our electoral assistance team on the ground to be able to work with the Iraqi authorities and, later on, next week actually, in fact we will all be meeting in Brussels with the Iraqi authorities to discuss their priorities and their needs. And we will take it from there.

[On] Kojo, I've always urged [him] to cooperate with the Volcker Commission, and that still remains my position.