28 January 2000

Rubin: Shalikashvili Will Seek Bipartisan Support for Treaty

State Department spokesman James Rubin told reporters January 28 that General John Shalikashvili will lead the Clinton administration's effort to develop bipartisan support for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) this year.

Shalikashvili will serve as an adviser to the President and the Secretary of State on CTBT.

"We do not expect to seek consent in the Senate this year given the shortness of the calendar," he said. "But what we are hoping to do by bringing Shalikashvili aboard is to develop the basis and the groundwork so that a consensus can develop for CTBT ratification in the near future."

Following is the transcript of Rubin's briefing:

U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
(Davos, Switzerland)
January 28, 2000

Press Briefing by James P. Rubin,
State Department Spokesman Aboard Aircraft
En Route To Davos, Switzerland

MR. RUBIN: Last November, in a speech in Chicago, Secretary Albright talked about a CTBT task force that was being set up. As you may have heard last night the President mentioned the importance of developing bipartisan support for the comprehensive test ban this year. So what has happened is that the Secretary and the President have asked General Shalikashvili to lead this effort during the remaining part of the year. And what the effort will entail is to try to develop a working relationship with many of the Senators who had concerns about the treaty to try to address the legitimate questions that were raised about verification, stockpile stewardship, and a number of the other issues where the shortness of the debate last year did not make it possible for a consensus on some pretty critical questions.

We do not expect to seek consent in the Senate this year given the shortness of the calendar. But what we are hoping to do by bringing Shalikashvili aboard is to develop the basis and the groundwork so that a consensus can develop for CTBT ratification in the near future. John Holum (senior adviser on arms control) and an interagency team will be part of this task force.

We think pursuing this effort is important for its own sake to develop support for ratification. An additional benefit we see is that other countries hopefully will regard this effort as a signal that the United States does intend eventually to ratify the CTBT, and that signal is critical to many countries' support for a robust Non-Proliferation Treaty and a robust effort to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.