07 November 2001

State Dept. Official Meets with Reporters in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan has taken its place with other civilized countries in trying to eliminate the horrors of international terrorism, and the United States is very grateful to the Kyrgyz government for any support it can provide "as they see fit to help and assist," according to Lynn Pascoe, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.

"This is really a question of the way friends help friends, and the way we see common difficulties and common enemies in the world," he added.

Pascoe was in Bishkek November 6-7 for bilateral talks with President Askar Akayev and other government officials, and meetings with nongovernmental organizations, educators, the international financial community, and university students.

Following is a transcript of a November 7 media availability with local reporters:

Ambassador Pascoe: Let me just say first that I've had a delightful time here in Kyrgyzstan. This is my first visit to your very fine country. You have very beautiful days and very beautiful weather. And my trip has been chock-full with meeting various people, various groups in society. And I had a very good, and I should say excellent meeting with the President. He was very gracious with his time. And we had a very good discussion of the various issues in the region. I must say that on my first visit to Kyrgyzstan I'm very impressed with the people here. The treatment has been very warm, and I've really enjoyed meeting and talking with all of the people I have from this country. Questions.

Question: Excuse me please. Agency Interfax. The Kyrgyz leadership supported the U.S. actions in Afghanistan. Will the U.S. in turn offer some kind of support to Kyrgyzstan, to other countries of the region? If so, what for of assistance might this be?

Ambassador Pascoe: Let me just say that one of the great satisfactions for the people of the United States has been the outpouring of sympathy and offers of assistance after the horrible events of September the 11th. Kyrgyzstan has taken its place along with most of the other civilized countries of the world in trying to work with us to eliminate the horrors of international terrorism. We have greatly appreciated both the offers of sympathy and the offers of assistance. I don't think this is a one-for-one sort of issue. As you know the United States has provided a certain amount of assistance to Kyrgyzstan for the last decade. We have done this for one very good reason, and that is because we believe that it is very important for Kyrgyzstan to develop and to thrive in the modern world. We expect that assistance and that working with the Government and the peoples of Kyrgyzstan to increase in the years ahead. We thought it was also then very kind and very much in character when the Kyrgyzstan Government said they would help us when we were in a time of difficulty. So this is not a one-for-one issue; this is really a question of the way friends help friends, and the way we see common difficulties and common enemies in the world.

Question: Is wider Kyrgyzstan participation possible in the anti-terror operation in Afghanistan?

Ambassador Pascoe: Well I think what is happening in this whole issue is you have to take the whole question step by step. First the war to eradicate the terrorism, which was so obvious in the world in September, is a multi-faceted effort. The part of the effort that may be most visible is the actual campaign in Afghanistan. But there are many other parts to the effort. First, all the governments in the coalition are pooling all of the information they know on people that might perpetrate such acts. Also they are working very hard to arrest people that may be involved or may be planning attacks. There is also a major effort across the world to dry up the financial resources of the terrorists. All of these efforts will be continuing, and there will be several phases. And we're very grateful to the Government of Kyrgyzstan that says it will help and work at the various stages as we see fit and as they see fit to help and assist.

Question: The Kyrgyz Government has provided overflight clearance for American aircraft participating in the military operation in Afghanistan. In your meeting with President Akayev, did you discuss any other ways of cooperation in military-technical areas within the framework of this operation? If yes, what might they be?

Ambassador Pascoe: Well the one first rule I make of these things is I never discuss in detail my conversations with presidents or other ranking officials. But let me assure you that we have a constant dialogue going on back and forth with the Government of Kyrgyzstan, where we discuss a very wide range of issues that are involved in the effort. We highly value the opinions and the advice, and we deeply appreciate the cooperation. Thank you very much.