11 May 2001

State Department's Grossman Briefs Press in Georgia

The United States supports a democratic and independent Georgia at peace with itself and with its neighbors, the State Department's Marc Grossman told reporters in Tbilisi, Georgia, May 11.

Grossman, the under secretary of state for political affairs, said the White House had asked him to travel to Tbilisi "with a message of support for Georgia and for President [Eduard] Shevardnadze."

Asked about the ABM [Anti-Ballistic Missile] Treaty, Grossman stressed that "there has been no decision to leave the ABM Treaty." He referred to President Bush's May 1 speech which called for "a new concept, a new framework, for strategic stability in the world," and that to create this framework, "we may need to move beyond the constraints of the ABM Treaty. But we are consulting with allies and friends before anyone makes such a decision."

Following is a transcript of the press briefing:

Press Briefing With U.S. Under Secretary Of State For Political Affairs Marc Grossman
Tbilisi, Georgia
Georgian State Chancellery
May 11, 2001

Under Secretary Grossman: Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming out on an evening to participate in this short press conference. My name is Marc Grossman. I'm the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs at the State Department in Washington. And I want to tell you how very happy I am to be in Tbilisi this evening and how much I wish to thank President Shevardnadze and his close associates for all of the hospitality that we have been shown.

As I told the President, the White House asked me to stop here with a message of support for Georgia and for President Shevardnadze. Since Georgia is such a good friend of the United States in the South Caucasus, I felt that I should become part of the regular consultations that now occur between our two countries on such a wide range of subjects. I told President Shevardnadze that all of us in Washington support the theme that our great ambassador, Ken Yalowitz, uses: that we support a democratic and independent Georgia at peace with itself and with its neighbors.

We had a very complete exchange of views with President Shevardnadze, and I told him that we wanted to continue in any way that we could to expand our cooperation and our dialogue with Georgia. So I'll stop where I started which is to thank the President and his associates and all of the people who helped us with such a show of Georgian hospitality. I very much appreciate it. And I'd be glad to take a few questions. We're on our way to Frankfurt this evening so I'd be glad to take two or three. Yes, please.

Q: What is President Shevardnadze's position with respect to the decision to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty?

Under Secretary Grossman: Let me be clear about two things. First, President Shevardnadze can speak for himself about his views and I won't speak for him. But, secondly, it's very, very important that you understand that there has been no decision to leave the ABM Treaty.

President Bush made a speech on the first of May talking about the need to have a new concept, a new framework, for strategic stability in the world. What he said was that we're no longer in the world of 1972; we're in the world of 2001, and in that world, Russia is not the enemy. The Cold War is over and we need a new way to think about the opportunities and the threats that face us. What President Bush said was that there are new threats to all of our countries that primarily come from the proliferation of missiles and weapons of mass destruction. And so we need a new way to think about strategic stability in the 21st century that has to do with defense, reduction of offensive weapons, and non-proliferation. He promised consultation with his allies and that is what I have been doing this week. He said that to create this framework we may need to move beyond the constraints of the ABM Treaty. But we are consulting with allies and friends before anyone makes such a decision. And perhaps Ambassador Yalowitz and others would make available to you the President's speech; I think it's well worth reading.

Q: Georgian State Television, the First Channel. Did you (inaudible) ?

Under Secretary Grossman: We did talk about the situation in Chechnya. The President said to me what a tragedy it is and how all of us should be working as much as possible to bring peace to that area as in others. We discussed all of our relations with Russia: U.S. relations with Russia, Georgian relations with Russia. I made clear to the President, as Ambassador Yalowitz has in public and in private, how much we support Georgia's independence and sovereignty and territorial integrity. And I promised we would continue to show that support.

I'll take one more if there is one more. No? OK, well thank you all very much. I appreciate your help. Thank you.