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24 February 2001
Powell, Foreign Minister Moussa on Iraq, Mideast Peace, U.S.-Egypt Ties
Secretary of State Colin Powell said he consulted with Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Amre Moussa on the search
for peace in the Middle East, Iraq, and the strengthening of the
U.S.-Egyptian relationship during his stop in Cairo February 24.
"President Bush asked me to make Egypt the first stop in my Middle
East trip, to seek the advice and counsel of President Mubarak on
several critical issues," said Powell during a joint press conference
with Moussa.
On the Palestinian-Israeli issue, Powell said that he and President
Mubarak had "recommitted ourselves to the search for peace based on
U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338." Powell also emphasized
that in order to reach peace between Israelis and Palestinians, both
sides must "reduce the level of violence, begin speaking to one
another again, begin restoring economic activities so that people can
put food on the table, (and) to begin restructuring the security
arrangements that were lost."
Concerning Iraq, Powell said he discussed with Mubarak and Moussa "the
need to relieve the burden on the Iraqi people whilst strengthening
controls on Saddam Hussein's efforts to develop weapons of mass
destruction and the means for their delivery." Powell also said the
allied air strikes against Iraq February 16 were intended to protect
the pilots patrolling the no-fly zones and the people living in the
zones.
With regard to bilateral ties, Powell said the United States and Egypt
have a strong military relationship that grew stronger during the
defense of Kuwait 10 years ago. He said the two countries are prepared
to meet similar challenges to regional security in the future. Powell
also said he discussed trade and investment and ways to strengthen
Egypt's participation in the global economy.
Following is a transcript of the Powell-Moussa briefing:
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman (Jerusalem)
Remarks by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
And Foreign Minister of Egypt Amre Moussa
Ittihadiya Palace
Cairo, Egypt
February 24, 2001
Foreign Minister Moussa: I would like to welcome the Secretary of
State, Colin Powell, on his first visit to Egypt, especially at this
juncture when a lot of things are taking place and following the
serious developments in this region. We welcome the Secretary of State
as we welcome the role of the United States as the main sponsor of the
peace process and as a friend of Egypt. We met with the President and
the Secretary and we went through all the items on the agenda from the
bilateral, the regional, to the peace process and other issues of
common concern. They went very well. Also our meeting, which lasted
for quite some time, covered those issues, too. We look forward to
working together in order to bring the peace process on track and
reach a just and lasting peace as soon as possible to put an end to
the tragic situation in the Occupied Territories. The other issues
relate to stability in the region.
Secretary Powell: Thank you very much, Mr. Minister and good evening
ladies and gentlemen. I am very pleased to be back in Egypt and to
have had the opportunity to meet and consult with President Mubarak
and with the Foreign Minister. I've known President Mubarak for many,
many years and it is good to renew the friendship. He is looked on as
a wise leader not only by his people, but by people throughout the
region and throughout the world. This occasion also gave me the
opportunity to strengthen my relationship with the Foreign Minister
and I look forward to working with him in the months and in the years
ahead.
President Bush asked me to make Egypt the first stop in my Middle East
trip -- to seek the advice and consul of President Mubarak on several
critical issues. We discussed the deterioration of the situation
between the Palestinians and the Israelis and the escalating violence,
which is causing us all such concern. In our conversation we
recommitted ourselves to the search for peace based on U.N Security
Council Resolution 242 and 338. We also discussed the need to relieve
the burden on the Iraqi people whilst strengthening controls on Saddam
Hussein's efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction and the means
for their delivery. Egypt and the United States have a long-standing
intensive military-to-military relationship, which grew stronger as we
stood as comrades-in-arms to defend an Arab state--Kuwait--from
unprecedented aggression some ten years ago. We stand ready today to
meet any similar challenge to the international integrity and security
of the states in the region. We are also cooperating, as you all know,
to develop new opportunities for trade and investment and to
strengthen Egypt's participation in the global economy. We will meet
again shortly; I look forward to that meeting. President Bush has
invited President Mubarak to visit Washington on April 2nd and
President Mubarak has accepted that invitation. President Bush and I
look forward to seeing him then, to further cement our strong
relationship with Egypt.
Thank you very much.
Question: The Egyptian press editorial commentary that we have seen
here has been bitterly aggressive in denouncing the U.S. role and not
welcoming you. I am wondering whether you believe you accomplished
anything during your meetings to assuage concerns about the air
strikes against Iraq and the continuing sanctions?
Secretary Powell: I received a very warm welcome from the leaders and
I know there is some unhappiness as expressed in the Egyptian press. I
understand that, but at the same time, with respect to the no-fly
zones and the air strikes that we from time to time must conduct to
defend our pilots, I just want to remind everybody that the purpose of
those no-fly zones and the purpose of those occasional strikes to
protect our pilots, is not to pursue an aggressive stance toward Iraq,
but to defend the people that the no-fly zones are put in to defend.
The people in the southern part of Iraq and the people in the northern
part of Iraq, and these zones have a purpose, and their purpose is to
protect people -- protect Arabs -- not to affect anything else in the
region. And we have to defend ourselves.
We will always try to consult with our friends in the region so that
they are not surprised and do everything we can to explain the purpose
of our responses. We had a good discussion, the Foreign Minister and I
and the President and I, had a good discussion about the nature of the
sanctions -- the fact that the sanctions exist -- not for the purpose
of hurting the Iraqi people, but for the purpose of keeping in check
Saddam Hussein's ambitions toward developing weapons of mass
destruction. We should constantly be reviewing our policies,
constantly be looking at those sanctions to make sure that they are
directed toward that purpose. That purpose is every bit as important
now as it was ten years ago when we began it. And frankly they have
worked. He has not developed any significant capability with respect
to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional
power against his neighbors. So in effect, our policies have
strengthened the security of the neighbors of Iraq, and these are
policies that we are going to keep in place, but we are always willing
to review them to make sure that they are being carried out in a way
that does not affect the Iraqi people but does affect the Iraqi
regime's ambitions and the ability to acquire weapons of mass
destruction, and we had a good conversation on this issue.
Foreign Minister Moussa: I would wish to borrow two expressions from
what the Secretary has just said, that this situation should be under
constant reviewing. So it's not a stagnant situation that we accept
things as they are, but should be reviewed. The other thing is that,
as the Secretary said, he knows that there is unhappiness and knows
what is taking place in Iraq. What we need is to give the full chance
for the talks that are going to resume or start after tomorrow in New
York between the Government and the Secretary General of the United
Nations about the whole question of Iraq and the Security Council
resolutions, and the Secretary General is going to listen to what the
Iraqis have to say, concerning sanctions, concerning the situation
after ten years, etc., so this meeting should be given full
opportunity for both parties to talk, to listen, and then, judging
from the results of such a meeting, I believe we shall all be
reviewing the situation. So there are certain stations that are coming
up and we will see what we can do.
Question: You said earlier that there is no moral equivalence between
the Palestinian self-defense and the Israeli attacks. Will the new
American Administration change its policy and not be as aggressive as
the former administration?
Secretary Powell: All human life is precious. What we all have to be
doing now is encouraging both sides at every level to reduce the level
of violence, to begin speaking to one another again, to begin
restoring economic activities so that people can put food on the
table, to begin restructuring the security arrangements that were
lost. And so this is the time for all of us, not to point fingers at
one another, but doing everything we can to reduce the level of
violence, because if the level of violence remains high, then we have
trouble getting the negotiations going again.
Question: Do you support keeping sanctions in place against Iraq on a
Presidential level? And then for Secretary Powell, if I could return
to your earlier meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister. Now that
you've had a chance to explain and to lay out some of the explanations
on the national missile defense, how concerned are you that the United
States is going to further alienate the Russians by moving forward
precipitously with this?
Foreign Minister Moussa: While answering your question, first of all
you have heard what Secretary Powell had to say about sanctions, that
he is re-thinking our thinking of a new type of sanctions not the
same. So if the Secretary of State is thinking in that way, do you
think as an Arab foreign minister, I would give you a blank answer
that sanctions should stay?
Question: So are you saying they should be lifted?
Foreign Minister Moussa: Well, sanctions so far have affected the
people rather than any regime. Sanctions should be reconsidered as a
weapon or as one of the procedures the Security Council resorts to.
But anyway, as I said, I want to concentrate on the talks that are
going to take place the day after tomorrow. Those will be very
important for all of us -- for the U.S., for Egypt, for the Arab
countries, for Iraq, and for the rest of the world and for the
international legitimacy.
Secretary Powell: Let me agree with the Minister that the talks coming
up between the Iraqi leadership and the Secretary General of the
United Nations are important. We will see whether they are serious --
whether they want to move in the direction that will cause the
sanctions to be lifted. Sanctions aren't something we want to live
with forever. They were put in place in order to bring the regime into
compliance with the international community and when that has been
accomplished to the satisfaction of the international community and we
can trust they have been, we will be in good shape.
With respect to Mr. Ivanov, I don't expect that my comments alienated
them any further. I don't think they are that alienated to begin with.
We are having good conversations. I was very impressed, as is
President Bush, impressed by the fact that in the recent proposal they
put forward to NATO, they indicated that they understand that there is
a danger from missiles that are carrying warheads -- that are weapons
of mass destruction. So I think we had a good conversation, a candid
exchange of views, as is said in the diplomatic world. We have much
more to talk about in the months ahead without alienating each other
in the process.
Question: Secretary Powell, there is a general feeling and consensus
that the new American administration is prioritizing the Iraq issue
than the Israeli-Arab conflict, which is the priority in the Arab
agenda. So, I'd like your comment.
Secretary Powell: No, I don't think that's accurate. I think the Bush
administration is trying to look at the whole region as a priority and
that you can't separate out these pieces-they're all linked. One
rather significant change in emphasis in the new administration is
that we are talking to our friends about all the issues in the region
and not just one issue being more important than the others. That
prioritization doesn't work any longer, in my judgement.
Question: Mr. Minister, given the attack by the United States on Iraq
last week, do you think there is a dangerous diversion from the
efforts being made don't help calm the situation on the ground in the
West Bank and Gaza?
Foreign Minister Moussa: Look, the situation in the West Bank and Gaza
and on the Palestinian and Israeli track is very basic for all of us.
So, no amount of developments in any other place would detract or
distract us from the attention given to the Palestinian-Israeli track
and the peace process in general with Syria and Israel and so on. But,
the question of Iraq has its own dimensions and importance and we've
discussed that in a quite detailed way and we are going to discuss
that again. The peace process is so important that derailing the peace
process or prolonging or procrastinating in this process would
certainly affect the whole region and the stability in the Middle East
in general.
Question: Would you tell any specifics that Secretary Powell suggested
about sanctions on Iraq and how to make them different.
Foreign Minister Moussa: Why do you ask me about what the Secretary said when
the gentleman is right here in front of you? (Laughter)
Secretary Powell: This is called push and shove. (Laughter) The
Secretary can speak for himself.
Foreign Minister Moussa: Okay, go ahead.
Question: Can we get an answer from either of you?
Secretary Powell: We spoke in general terms about the sanctions regime
and the specifics will come later. Right now, I'm in the process of
consulting with my friends throughout the region and when that
consultation process is finished and I've taken it back and talked to
the President and talked to our friends at the Perm Five within the
U.N., then all the specifics appropriate will be announced.
Question: So you did not go beyond talking about (inaudible), you did
not talk about specifics?
Secretary Powell: We got into some level of detail, but I don't know
if it is the level of specificity that you are looking for that I
would care to speak about right now.
Question: (summarized) The U.S. always tries to consult with its
friends in the region, but did you consult with your friends before
attacking Iraq or not?
Secretary Powell: That particular strike last Friday, which got all
the attention, was part of the pre-planned series of actions that we
take in response to provocations from Iraqi radar systems and the
like. Frankly, if it had not been so visible in terms of the
announcement that the strike was undertaken, it might not have gotten
the kind of attention that it did. It has certainly sensitized us to
the need to do a better job of making our friends aware of the kinds
of plans we are executing and the kinds of contingency plans we have
for the no-fly zones.
Question: You've mentioned trade and investment. How do you see the
future of the Gore-Mubarak partnership and have you discussed with the
President the future of the free trade agreement (inaudible)?
Secretary Powell: I did discuss with both the Foreign Minister and the
President an Egyptian-U.S. free trade agreement and made the point
that we know of their interest in such an agreement. We have an
interest as well. There are a lot of things that have to be done, a
lot of considerations that have to be looked at before we can go
further. I'm sure it will be a major item of discussion at the meeting
that the two presidents will have in April. With respect to the
Gore-Mubarak channel, of course, that channel has left with the
previous administration. We are looking for new ways of engaging with
our Egyptian friends and the Foreign Minister and I did speak about
that at some length.
Question: (summarized) Are you aware of the sale of oil outside Iraq?
Secretary Powell: Yes, we are aware of the extent to which Iraq is
selling oil outside of the oil-for-food constraints. It probably
represents ten per cent of their total income and it is troubling to
us. But the bulk of the oil still comes out of the oil-for-food
program and I will be talking to our friends in the region about how
we can do a better job of tightening up the leakage in the
oil-for-food system.
Question: (summarized) Do you expect the resumption of talks between
Israel and the Palestinians?
Secretary Powell: We are in a position where we have to wait for a new
Israeli government to be formed and to take over. I hope that Prime
Minister Sharon at that point will want to engage at every level as
soon as possible, whether it's with respect to reducing violence or
security arrangements or economic activity or putting proposals down
on the table. So, we shouldn't see any of this "nothing happens until
that happens." I think it's better for us to be prepared for all
things to happen, for us to move forward. But we really have to wait
to see what positions Mr. Sharon takes when he becomes Prime Minister
in a short period of time.
Foreign Minister Moussa: Wait a minute please. We have two questions
to go-okay, maybe one and a half questions. Okay, you have a half of a
question. (laughter)
Question: (summarized) There are reports in the Arabic newspapers
today that you are proposing to take a harder line on Israel and
(inaudible) with respect to Iraq. Can you confirm that?
Secretary Powell: I've made no such suggestion.
Question: Are you linking the two situations in any way?
Secretary Powell: The whole region is looked at as a whole but I have
not offered or suggested any kind of direct quid pro quo.
Question: We know that Israel suggested establishing a strategic
alliance with the Clinton administration. Is this idea still on the
table and what are the possibilities of making a similar alliance with
Egypt? Maybe you could just focus on the elements of the relations
right now.
Secretary Powell: The Foreign Minister and I have talked about things
we might do in the future in order to strengthen the relationship at
every level-trade, economics, security assistance, military aid-and we
look forward to continuing the discussion. The exact form that it will
take I think will be discussed by the two presidents when we get
together in April.
Question: (summarized) Will the United States veto the lifting of
sanctions on Iraq in the U.N.?
Secretary Powell: I can't give an answer to a question like that
without knowing what a specific resolution might look like. It would
be presumptuous of me to do so. Such a decision is based on what the
resolution turns out to be.
Question: (summarized) Minister Moussa, how big a threat is Iraq right
now? It seems that the Secretary is trying to have it both ways.
Either the country has been diminished by ten years of sanctions or
it's still threat that we have to worry about.
Foreign Minister Moussa: For us, I don't see that threat, but if you
ask the Gulf regions and countries of that area they will they would
continue to feel that and they say it publicly. The question is not
rhetorical. The question is not to have some headlines. It's a very
serious situation. We will continue to deal with that situation in a
way that ensures stability and justice. Therefore, we will have a lot
to say after the round of talks ...
Secretary Powell: May I just add a p.s. that if I was a Kuwaiti and I
heard leaders in Baghdad claiming that Kuwait is still a part of Iraq
and it's going to be included in the flag and the seal, if I knew they
were continuing to try to find weapons of mass destruction, I would
have no doubt in my mind who those weapons were aimed at. They are
being aimed at Arabs, not at the United States or at others. Yes, I
think we should...he has to be contained until he realizes the errors
of his ways.
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