26 March 2002

Armitage Says U.S. Seeks "Robust Enlargement" of NATO

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage says that countries aspiring to join NATO must continue to reach the goals of the Membership Action Plan (MAP), and must show that they intend "to continue with reform long after they may have gained entry" into the Alliance.

The United States wants "the most robust enlargement possible" at the Prague summit in November, Armitage told reporters March 26 in Brussels, where he stopped en route home from the Bucharest summit of countries seeking NATO membership.

The deputy secretary told reporters that he was "very satisfied" with the Bucharest summit, noting in particular the participation of Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman. Poland and the Czech Republic were admitted to NATO during the last round of enlargement in 1999.

"They didn't just get into NATO and then close the door behind them," he said. "They were there to encourage new allies."

Following is the transcript of Armitage's press conference:

Press Conference
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage
NATO Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
March 26, 2002

Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns: Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to welcome back to NATO the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage.

Deputy Secretary Armitage: Thank you Nick. Good afternoon. I have the great pleasure of coming from Bucharest to Brussels. I am delighted to be back here. I was last here on September 20th, right after the fantastic Article 5 decision -- declaration -- by our NATO Allies.

I have several purposes for coming here. First of all I want [to] discuss again the absolutely vital nature of the NATO Alliance to the United States and, I think, to freedom in the world. The fact that 16 of our Allies are with us on the ground in Afghanistan, I think, speaks volumes to that. Second, I wanted to discuss the Bucharest summit, the spring of new allies from which I have just returned, and make the point to our friends here that the United States supports the most robust possible enlargement at the Prague summit in November. Next, I was able to brief about Vice President Cheney's recently completed trip through the Middle East. And finally, I had a discussion in the NAC (North Atlantic Council) on Iraq, and Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

So I will be glad to take a question or two, and then I am going to greet the Mission and then fly back to the United States so please....

Question: What was your message on Iraq and Iraq's weapons of mass destruction?

Armitage: Well, obviously this was a classified briefing that I gave. But, in general, it was a discussion of the activities of Iraq and the Iraqi regime to regain weapons of mass destruction in the absence of the inspectors for the last almost four years.

Q: What could be the role, NATO's role, in an operation against Iraq?

Armitage: We had no discussion of such a thing. It's a hypothetical and I don't think I will take the question.

Q: In the fight against terrorism, what more do you think NATO could do in this fight against terrorism in the coming years or months?

Armitage: Well, I think this is an ongoing and developing situation. And as situations present themselves, I'm sure we would make any requests of NATO as they popped up. Thus far, NATO has been fantastic in everything from intelligence sharing, through overflights to, as I mentioned, actual activities on the ground. I was able to express to our colleagues here my sorrow that several of us -- the U.S., the U.K., Denmark, Germany -- have actually lost service members in this battle. And even that loss is something that ties us more closely together.

Q: Are you satisfied with the meeting in Bucharest, and do you think that the nine candidates are ready to be invited at the Prague summit?

Armitage: Well that's two questions. So the first part of that: I am very satisfied with the summit in Bucharest from several different angles. I was thrilled that the Polish president and the Czech prime minister came. They didn't just get into NATO and then close the door behind them. They were there to encourage new allies, and I thought that was a very noteworthy thing, as was the visit of Prime Minister Ecevit of Turkey.

On the question of nine new aspirants: I noted that Lord Robertson was present by television, via television in Bucharest, and he said there is one thing for sure: there will be between one and nine aspirants in NATO this fall. Our point is that we want the most robust enlargement possible. That means that aspirant countries have to, not only continue to reach their MAP [Membership Action Plan] goals, but to be able to, I think, show to everyone sitting around that table today that their intention is to continue with reform long after they may have gained entry into NATO.

I thank you very much. Good afternoon.