*EPF202 03/19/2002
Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, March 19
(Sudan, Saudi Arabia, global tax, Cuba, Burma, Pakistan, Consular Affairs/worldwide warning, Yemen, non-proliferation issues, Yugoslavia, Mexico, Israel/Palestinian Authority, Iran, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Zimbabwe, public diplomacy, Russia) (7300)

State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher briefed.

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing Index
March 19, 2002
12:40 p.m.

Briefer: Richard Boucher, Spokesman

SUDAN
-- Reported Arrest of Wanted Terrorist Abu Anas Liby

SAUDI ARABIA
-- Crown Prince Abdullah Visit
-- VOA Editorial Charging Saudi Press Using Anti-Semitic Material

GLOBAL TAX
-- American Policy

CUBA
-- Reported Deportation of Colombian Hijacker
-- Anti-Narcotics Efforts and Cooperation
-- Trial of Ana Belen Montes

BURMA
-- Postponement of Visit by UN Special Envoy Razali

PAKISTAN
-- Bombing of Church
-- Voluntary Departure Status

CONSULAR AFFAIRS
-- World-Wide Warning

YEMEN
-- Lifting of Authorized Departures

NON-PROLIFERATION ISSUES
-- Loss of Confidence in Director General of Organization for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Jose Bustani

YUGOSLAVIA
-- Alleged Espionage Case

MEXICO
-- Circumstances Surrounding Death of American Citizen
-- Journalist Allegedly Denied Entry to Press Conference

ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
-- Vice President Cheney's Trip/General Zinni's Agenda and Objectives/Chairman Arafat's Travel/Withdrawal of Israeli Troops

IRAN
-- Senator Biden's Invitation to Iranian Parliamentary Officials

COLOMBIA
-- Easing Restrictions on U.S. Aid

KYRGYZSTAN
-- Release of Detained Official

ZIMBABWE
-- U.S. View of Elections

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
-- Hyde Bill to Reorganize Public Diplomacy Efforts

RUSSIA
-- Non-Proliferation Talks with Under Secretary Bolton and Deputy Foreign Minister Mamedov in Geneva
-- Secretary Powell's Phone Call to Foreign Minister Ivanov


U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

12:40 P.M. EST -- TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2002
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I don't have any statements or announcements, so I'd be glad to take your questions.

Mr. Gedda.

QUESTION: Is there anything you can say about the reported arrest in Iran of an al-Qaida militant?

MR. BOUCHER: A reported arrest in?

QUESTION: I mean the Sudan.

MR. BOUCHER: No.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. BOUCHER: My colleague at the White House just gave essentially the same answer as well.

QUESTION: Actually he did it in a lot nicer way.

MR. BOUCHER: All right. I'm sorry. We are certainly aware of the press reporting on the issue, but I'm not, I'm afraid -- regrettably I'm not in a position to provide you with any more information on this matter.

QUESTION: Can I change the topic?

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. BOUCHER: Because it's just -- it's unfortunately not a matter I can go into.

QUESTION: Does it involve intelligence material?

MR. BOUCHER: It involves intelligence, law enforcement, diplomatic relations, and one of the premises of all of the efforts that we have made in this effort is that we would leave it to other governments to describe what they are doing or what they have done, and not try to make the news from here about events that take place across the world that others might be carrying out.

So if the other government wants to talk about what they have or haven't done, I'll leave that to them. That's been true ever since the beginning.

QUESTION: There seem to be some people --

MR. BOUCHER: So for all of the above reasons, I realize there's always some people in this government to put out information. Sometimes they are even correct. But not always. And I realize that's one of the problems of your profession, but I'm afraid I'm not in a position to do anything for you.

QUESTION: Are you trying to say that this particular report might not be correct?

MR. BOUCHER: I didn't say anything about this particular report.

QUESTION: That's true (inaudible).

MR. BOUCHER: That's true.

QUESTION: Everything from this podium, actually, then is correct? I don't want to get drawn down into the (inaudible).

MR. BOUCHER: Absolutely.

QUESTION: Then perhaps we can go back into the agreement that the Sudanese reached, the cease-fire deal, which you explained to us about the Nuba Mountains last week.

Anyway, go ahead Eli.

QUESTION: Thank you. When Crown Prince Abdullah -- who has been invited by Vice President Cheney -- when he comes to this country, can you tell us what kind of protocol the State Department will use or what kind of protocol this government will use? Will he be treated as a head of state?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know.

QUESTION: Can we have that as a taken question?

MR. BOUCHER: I'll see if there's anything to say on that. I don't remember exactly his status as head of state, head of government, or foreign minister. I'm sure we will treat him appropriately. That's how we'll treat him.

QUESTION: Mexican President Vicente Fox called today in an op ed article in a Washington paper for a global tax on carbon emissions to fund international development programs. Could you say whether the United States Government approves of such a plan and endorses it?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm afraid I didn't read the op ed, so I didn't have a chance to check. But I've never heard anyone from the US side propose anything like that. Let's leave it -- put it that way.

QUESTION: Well, if I can just go a little further, the idea of global taxes on currency transactions, the so-called "Tobin Tax" and on airplane tickets has been proposed several times in the last few years by Boutros Ghali and various other people. Would you care to comment on any of these plans for a global tax? In general, the US Government has been against them. I wondered if the policy has remained the same as it was.

MR. BOUCHER: The US Government has seen these kinds of proposals from time to time in the past, going over many administrations, and I don't remember any of them that the US Government supported, frankly.

QUESTION: Cuba claims they are holding a hijacker from Colombia, wanted in the US, and they are talking about what a good thing a drug cooperation agreement with the United States would be. Any comment?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, let me bring you up to date on that, including some of the issues that were raised yesterday, if I can find it. The answer is, no, I can't find it. Here we go. We made it.

As you know, we have been in contact with the Cuban Government on law enforcement issues from time to time on a case-by-case basis. We have done so when it's in the interest of the United States to do so. The Cuban Government did recently deport two individuals to the United States, first Jesse James Bell, who is wanted on narcotics charges, and William Joseph Harris, who is wanted on child abuse charges.

Cuba has indicated a possible willingness to deport another, Mr. Rafael Bustamante, who is wanted on narcotics and other charges. For specifics on those cases, you would have to check with the Department of Justice. These cases involve deportation from Cuba, not extradition. We don't have an extradition relationship with Cuba.

We have been looking for Cuba's cooperation across the board on law enforcement issues, and other than this occasional case-by-case cooperation, I'm afraid we just haven't gotten it. If the regime were to demonstrate a willingness to work across the board with us on law enforcement issues, then we might consider some more formal structure. But that kind of global commitment from Cuba is completely absent. There are still dozens of fugitives from US justice who have been provided safe haven by the Cuban Government. Some of them include dangerous and noteworthy criminals like Charles Hill and Michael Finney, who murdered a New Mexico state trooper in 1971; Joanne Chesimard, the murderer of a New Jersey state trooper in 1973; and Victor Manuel Gerena, on the FBI's Most Wanted List for a multimillion dollar armed robbery in 1983. So the test of across-the-board cooperation is not a proposal for some kind of agreement; the test of cooperation is cooperation.

QUESTION: Can I follow up? Would you consider in that list of dozens of fugitives who could be dangerous Asatta Shakur?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't have a full list of people who might have taken refuge in Cuba.

QUESTION: Mr. Boucher, on the Cuba issue. I remember during the last administration, you were Spokesperson, too --

MR. BOUCHER: I remember too, yes.

QUESTION: -- applauding the efforts of the Cuban Government in terms of anti-narcotics. There was a case where the Cuban authorities gave to the American authorities a cargo of cocaine. So my question to you is do you applaud at this time the efforts of the Cuban Government in terms of anti-narcotics, or it's a different approach, or what is the difference between --

MR. BOUCHER: Well, I think the essence of your question is really the essence of what I said. There was a case, and occasionally there are cases, and certainly we welcome the deportation of individuals and the ability to bring them to justice in the United States. But the question this time is does this presage or indicate the possibility of some larger area of cooperation, and I'm afraid that has to be based on the facts, and the facts aren't there. Yes, from time to time there are cases where they do the right thing, and we're glad that they do. We welcome the opportunity to bring these people to justice. But it's not an across-the-board thing in any way yet.

QUESTION: What about critics that say that you're holding Cuba to a different standard than you are other countries? I mean, there are other countries, you don't get a whole lot of cooperation from them, but you're willing to congratulate them at the time and say that we look for further cooperation, and in some cases institute some mechanisms.

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know that I actually can think of anywhere that we don't have -- or we have a similar situation, frankly. In Cuba, not only do you have only this occasional or case-by-case cooperation on law enforcement issues, but you have a foundation of a lack of human rights, a lack of democracy, of dictatorship. Certainly in our hemisphere they are the only one that stand out in that way.

QUESTION: On Cuba. Today, Ana Belen Montes, this woman that was accused of spying for Cuba, she pled guilty today. I don't know whether you have anything, or you imagined that there could be a possibility that there is a negotiation with Cuba for shortening or exchanging her for something?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't have anything to say on that, I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Do you think it's a possibility that such a thing could happen?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not going to speculate. These matters are in the hands of the judicial officials and the courts.

QUESTION: Can you explain why it is that you're allowed to get up there and recite a list of names that people that are living in Cuba who you want arrested, and not allowed to say anything about people that you might want arrested who are in other countries, say Sudan, for instance? (Laughter.)

MR. BOUCHER: It obviously depends on the status of the individuals. If these are people who have been subject to public indictments, for example, and it's publicly known that they might be fugitives from justice, including an individual I cited on the FBI's Most Wanted List. If we would happen to know where he might be, I think it would behoove us to try to indicate that there was a publicly indicted person who was a fugitive from justice.

QUESTION: It's my understanding that the person in question, without getting into the validity of the reporting that you didn't want to talk about, but that that person is also on the FBI's -- or at least on the FBI's list of 22 terrorists.

MR. BOUCHER: The second --

QUESTION: Is that not correct?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, the second issue, Matt, is what do we know, how do we know it, what are the sources of our information, what's the status of the case, and what's the status of the cooperation with the other government. I would say we have fewer sensitivities about a government that may or may not -- that may not be doing the right thing, as opposed to a government where we're trying to encourage further cooperation.

QUESTION: Okay. So just to -- I want to make sure -- so Hill and Finney and this other person, the Cuban Government has come out and said that they have them, that they are living there?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know that they have, but we think they're there and we think that the Cuban Government could turn them over and report them if they wanted to.

QUESTION: Well, okay, do you think that this person who is named in this morning's newspaper story, who is reported to have been arrested in Sudan, is in Sudan?

MR. BOUCHER: Once again, I have nothing to say about the reports on any particular individual in today's newspaper.

QUESTION: Hopefully that story.

QUESTION: This cooperation on a case-by-case, it applies only to law enforcement or in other areas, would be the United States more willing to cooperate on a regular basis with Cuba?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think it's time to start speculating on broad areas of cooperation with Cuba. We have done things with Cuba where it was appropriate and necessary in any US interests. I'm not -- I don't think we're on the verge of opening up new doors of cooperation with Cuba. I'm afraid that's just not the case. Cuba persists to -- in its ways, Cuba persists to deny democracy and deny hope for a future to its people, and that's the fundamental issue.

QUESTION: You asked yesterday about the dis-invitation by Burma of Mr. Razali on the grounds that it was too busy dealing with the Ne Win family conspiracy. Do you have anything -- any comment on that decision by the Burmese Government?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes. I have managed to look into a little bit. I think there were different reports about the situation that have been subsequently clarified somewhat. And I would say that we are disappointed by the postponement of UN Special Envoy Razali's visit to Burma. The Burmese Government has postponed this mission, and we would hope that they would quickly move to reschedule it. We think it's very important for Razali to return to Burma, continue his mission of facilitating a political dialogue there. The delay in the Razali visit reflects negatively on the sincerity of the regime in pursuing national reconciliation. And as you know we have always supported the efforts of Mr. Razali and hope he can continue his work.

QUESTION: Does that mean you don't take their excuse very seriously?

MR. BOUCHER: That means we don't think that it's necessary to postpone this visit. They had informed us, frankly -- I guess the UN had said that the Burmese regime and the National League for Democracy had informed the UN that recent internal problems in Burma would not affect the talks. So this is a difference from what they had originally said, too.

QUESTION: Can you say if you have anything new on the bombing in the church in Pakistan on Sunday?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I have much in the way of new news on that. We are making every effort to work with Pakistan on the issue. Pakistani authorities are making every effort to identify swiftly the terrorists who attacked the church in Islamabad on Sunday and to bring them to justice. At this point, there are still no claims of responsibility for the attack, and there have been no arrests.

We have been unable to establish the identity of the fifth body at this time. When we have done so, we'll try to provide that information. I know there has been a lot of speculation about the motives and the identity of those who are responsible. The investigation is working to establish these facts, and we will provide details when appropriate.

We will be providing full assistance and support to any Americans, including private citizens as well as members of our diplomatic community in Islamabad who were affected by the attack. Preparations are ongoing for repatriation of the remains of the family members of our employees, Mrs. Barbara Green and her daughter Kristen Wormsley, and for the medical evacuation of those injured Americans who will require treatment outside of Pakistan.

We are dispatching a team of special agents from the Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security to Pakistan today to assist with the investigation. As I mentioned yesterday, there are also other US law enforcement assets in Pakistan already, which have begun to work on this and are assisting Pakistani authorities.

QUESTION: How closely are you working with the Pakistani authorities? I mean, are --

MR. BOUCHER: How what?

QUESTION: Closely.

MR. BOUCHER: The answer is very, very closely. But it is their investigation at this point.

QUESTION: The special agents would be FBI agents?

MR. BOUCHER: No. From the Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

QUESTION: Is the US considering a complete withdrawal of diplomatic personnel from Pakistan? One of the reports I read said that.

MR. BOUCHER: What we announced in our new travel advisory, Travel Warning -- excuse me, I'll wash my mouth out with soap -- what we announced in the new Travel Warning that went out yesterday, first of all, is advice that all Americans defer travel to Pakistan. And second of all, we announced that we have now approved the authorized -- that is, voluntary -- departure of eligible family members of embassy and consular personnel in Pakistan. So that's the step we're taking. We're not pulling everybody out. They have an important mission to do. I think they are all committed and devoted to accomplishing that mission. It is critical for the United States. It's critical for our interests. And they'll do it as safely as possible.

QUESTION: On Sunday, you issued a Worldwide Travel Warning, and I'm just wondering, in this warning you said that Americans should avoid places where they normally congregate, whether that be churches or schools or places where Americans are a majority. I compared this with the previous warning, and that part is not in there in the one that was from February.

Is this the first time that you've ever actually issued a Worldwide Warning for Americans to avoid schools and churches and cafes where Americans hang out together?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't, frankly, know if it's the first time we've done it on a worldwide basis. That kind of language has, at various times and places, been part of specific travel warnings for specific areas or locations. I didn't get out the entire history of Worldwide Cautions to see if that's been in before.

QUESTION: Well, how about in your recent memory?

MR. BOUCHER: I tend to remember that during the Gulf War, frankly, that several of the warnings were of that nature, but I would have to look that up.

QUESTION: On the issue of warnings and authorized and ordered departures, I find it a little curious that yesterday, the same day that you ended the voluntary departure program for Yemen, that you opened a voluntary departure, or reopened the voluntary departure program for Pakistan, given that, in fact, the attack in Pakistan was not on the embassy compound, and the attack on Friday in Sanaa was on the embassy compound.

Can you explain? Is it -- well, can you explain why that is?

MR. BOUCHER: These are very particular decisions. They are made on the best information that we have at the time. They are made based on a whole complex number of factors: what kind of embassy is it, what kind of security is it, what kind of support and assistance are we getting from the local government, what kind of intelligence warnings do we have, what are the likely targets of groups or individuals that may operate in the area.

And you have to remember that we're in this with our families, the people who are out there at our embassies, and the predilection has to be, unless there is evidence to the contrary, to let people be with their families. Most of them take these assignments knowing where they are going, knowing the possible difficulties of the places they're going. And to the extent that we can let people be with their families, that's what we try to do. So in each specific case we have to look at the current environment in the location and decide whether there's any additional risk or unacceptable risk of family members being there.

QUESTION: Okay. But in Pakistan the authorized departure applies to all dependents. In Yemen, the only people that aren't allowed to go back are minor dependents; i.e., children. Is there some reason that spouses are safer in Yemen than they would be in Pakistan, or am I just barking up the wrong tree?

MR. BOUCHER: Matt, I'm sorry, but because so much of this is based on threat assessments and intelligence and things that we're not in a position to talk about, I couldn't do that kind of analysis for you. But as a general proposition, I would have to say that children involve special circumstances. Kids have to go to school. So you have additional locations where it may or may not be safe for dependents to be.

QUESTION: There are reports that the United States is trying to ease Mr. Bustani out of his position as head of the OPCW. What is your objection to Mr. Bustani?

MR. BOUCHER: The management of this organization, I think, is beset by a set of problems that have resulted in the loss of confidence in the current director. The loss of confidence is widespread among many countries of the world, and we've seen a variety of problems there, including financial mismanagement, demoralization of the technical secretariat staff, and what many believe are to be ill-considered initiatives.

So the United States and others, given these serious concerns, don't believe the organization can continue to fulfill its primary mission of eliminating chemical weapons under its current leadership, and we have urged the Director-General -- we and others have urged the Director- General to resign for the good of the organization.

QUESTION: Is your campaign against him related in any way to the OPCW's role in Iraq, or is it purely a question of management?

MR. BOUCHER: It's a question of how the organization operates. This is a very important organization to us. We strongly supported the Chemical Weapons Convention and in making this organization effective, and therefore we want it to be effectively under good management.

QUESTION: Okay. Do you have any other replacements in mind?

MR. BOUCHER: No.

QUESTION: In Belgrade the man who was arrested with the US diplomat a few days ago has been basically forced to resign on these charges and what is becoming a scandal there. Do you have any reaction to that, any update at all on what we know about it, or our position on that?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I'm going to have much more to say on this. As we have noted, our guy was treated improperly by military authorities out there, and we think an elected official was treated improperly by military authorities out there. We have received an apology for that, and at this point we consider the matter closed.

QUESTION: But on this other issue, I mean, isn't this a disconcerting event to take place in a government that we're trying to help succeed?

MR. BOUCHER: Again, I don't think I'm going to try to make this a wider thing at this point. Obviously we follow these developments very closely, but I'm not going to make a wider issue of it at this point.

QUESTION: Richard, two things. One, there were reports yesterday -- well, and even before -- that the guy in Belgrade really was your guy in Belgrade, and I don't mean selling vacuum cleaners. Can you say anything about the fact that the -- about these reports that he was in fact a spy?

And if you can't, you said yesterday -- you seemed to hint yesterday when you were asked about documents that he may have received or had in his possession when he was arrested, you said that there were no such documents, hinting that he wasn't involved in any kind of espionage activity. What do you make of that?

MR. BOUCHER: I make of it that I've said what we have to say. A US diplomat was treated inappropriately, and we received an apology. And I don't think it's for me to start dealing with rumors, statements and everything else that may or may not be out there. We consider the fact that our guy was improperly treated and the fact that they apologized for it as a statement that they accept the idea.

QUESTION: Okay. On Friday, when you registered your outrage about the arrest, you said that you -- you also said that it had -- that you were concerned about the treatment of a senior political figure. Now, you're --

MR. BOUCHER: I said that again about five minutes ago.

QUESTION: Well -- did you?

QUESTION: Yes, he did. But can you -- this guy appears to be a victim of something involving the United States. Can you not offer him more than just the case is closed? I mean, do you have any sympathy for him? Do you regret the fact that he was forced to resign?

MR. BOUCHER: Jonathan, you're making assumptions about the situation. I told Teri we are obviously following the situation out there, but at this point I'm not prepared to draw any bigger conclusions. We have made quite clear all along that we think this kind of treatment of an elected official by the military authorities is inappropriate, is wrong. He was released over the weekend, and as far as other things go, at this point I don't have any broader commentary.

QUESTION: Maybe I've missed a personnel move, but is the diplomat in question still on-post, or has he been dumped?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know.

QUESTION: Pardon me?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know.

QUESTION: You don't know?

MR. BOUCHER: No.

QUESTION: Two questions on different subjects on Mexico. First, an American student was killed, or apparently a suicide, two days ago in Cancun. My question to you is, has been the Mexican authorities in contact with you on this investigation, if he was actually killed or he committed suicide in Cancun? It's one of the students on this --

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. I have not heard about this, but I'll check into it.

QUESTION: And the second point. A few days ago, a Mexican journalist covering the press conference of Mr. Otto Reich in the Embassy of the United States in Mexico, he was refused to go to the press conference by one of the employees of the US press office at the Embassy. And he said the reason he was not invited is it was because the editorials in his newspaper criticized a lot the American policy. Do you have any comments on that?

MR. BOUCHER: No. This is all news to me, if this ever happened. And I'll check into it and see if there's anything to say. I'm sure the embassy would be glad to inform you of the facts of the matter.

QUESTION: Can you tell us tomorrow about it, about this issue?

MR. BOUCHER: We'll see if I can find anything more. But again, I'd suggest you contact the Embassy.

QUESTION: Can you tell us where the state of play is in the Middle East today, please?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not sure I'm adding too much to it. As you've seen, the Vice President is in Israel, and he has had meetings with Prime Minister Sharon, been talking and working with General Zinni. The Vice President said he expects 100 percent effort from Chairman Arafat to stop the violence and terrorism. That's always been our administration's position. We will expect Arafat to begin immediate and serious steps to get a cease-fire started and to begin implementation of the Tenet work plan.

This includes a clear public commitment to the Palestinian Authority's Tenet obligations, unambiguous orders to the Palestinian security services to enforce the cease-fire and a serious effort to stop the terror attacks. If these conditions can be achieved, we will have an appropriate environment for a constructive meeting.

General Zinni has discussed with the Vice President the status of his efforts to achieve a cease-fire and to move into implementation of the Tenet work plan. He will continue to update the Vice President in the days ahead, and in the end, the Vice President made clear that General Zinni's assessment of progress on Tenet implementation will determine how the administration proceeds.

So that's where we are.

QUESTION: Richard, what's your position at the moment on whether Arafat should be free to go to Beirut, and what do you think of Prime Minister Sharon's threats not to let him back unless he fulfills -- if he violates certain conditions set by Sharon?

MR. BOUCHER: The position remains the same as it was before. We think the Israeli Government should give very serious consideration to this matter, to allowing Chairman Arafat to travel to the Arab League Summit. What we're all trying to do is to create the conditions where any of these high-level meetings can be useful, can be constructive. General Zinni is out there to accomplish the objective of creating the environment and getting security for both sides, and our goal -- our views on these things will all be directed at whether or not they serve that purpose.

QUESTION: Just to follow up, he didn't mention the threat not to let him return? Is that helpful?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any specific comment on these things. We have said before in this matter of travel to or fro that the Israeli Government needs to consider seriously what would be in its interests. I'll leave it at that.

QUESTION: What is your understanding of the conditions that Arafat would have to meet before the possible meeting that the Vice President offered could take place?

MR. BOUCHER: As I just noted, that really it will be based on General Zinni's -- the Vice President has already said this -- but it will be based on General Zinni's assessment of progress on the Tenet implementation on the achievement of the cease-fire that we're looking for.

QUESTION: So it wasn't necessarily offered because we think that progress has been made toward that already, but more as an incentive? It wasn't expected in the short term as much as it may have been hoped?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know that anybody has set a timing or location for such a meeting at this point. General Zinni is still trying to move forward on achieving the cease-fire and getting the implementation of the Tenet work plan. He has made some progress. We have had the first -- he has organized the first high-level trilateral meeting in several weeks to discuss ways of how to get that implementation of the Tenet work plan. He has focused the parties for the first time on concrete ways to implement the security work plan.

The discussions so far in our view have been professional, they have been serious, they have been constructive, and so the meetings will continue. And his assessment of how they continue and how we can achieve those goals will be instrumental in deciding what the next high-level meeting might be.

QUESTION: Has the Secretary spoken with either the Vice President or with General Zinni since -- in the last two or three days, or has the reporting just been through the normal State Department diplomatic channels?

MR. BOUCHER: I'd have to double-checkon all the calls, but I think there's basically been some of each. He has been keeping in touch, and I'm not sure -- I don't know everybody he has talked to internally. But yes, he has been keeping in touch with the party, the traveling party, as well as getting all the normal reporting through Ambassador Burns, who is on the trip. And obviously he is in close touch with us as well.

QUESTION: Richard, has he spoken to Yasser Arafat in the last few days?

MR. BOUCHER: No.

QUESTION: Two things. One is, in the next high-level security talks that Zinni will be involved in, are you still -- your understanding is that's going to be tomorrow?

MR. BOUCHER: That's what we're looking for.

QUESTION: Okay. And now on a related subject.

QUESTION: I haven't finished on --

QUESTION: All right.

QUESTION: Yes, well, what's your assessment of how well the withdrawal is going, and are you satisfied with the pace of it?

MR. BOUCHER: We have -- I'll give you the same answer to the pace question as I gave yesterday. I'm not trying to assess the pace on a daily basis, but we continue to welcome the evidence of Israeli withdrawals. We're looking for that process to continue until the withdrawal is complete. Indeed, there are some reports already that indicate it may be nearing that point. But we're looking for a complete withdrawal, and we are glad the Israelis are taking steps in that direction.

QUESTION: Richard, yesterday the Voice of America began airing a US Government editorial that said that the Saudis should stop -- should move to reign in anti-Semitic language in their media and press -- in fact, not just the Saudis, but all Arab governments should -- referring specifically to an article, a column that appeared in Al-Riyadh, I believe, on the 10th, which repeated the blood libel against the Jews. I am wondering if this is something that you guys diplomatically are taking up with the Saudis and with other Arabs, or if it's just something that you are broadcasting into the ether and hoping that they kind of get it by listening, get the message by listening to VOA. I'm sure they do.

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. I'll check and see what diplomatic approaches have been made. Certainly I can confirm that our policy is against anti-Semitism wherever it exists. And wherever we have occasion to raise these issues, we do -- and, frankly, in the Arab world, but elsewhere as well.

QUESTION: It mentioned it specifically in reference to the Saudi Crown Prince's proposal and the specific --

MR. BOUCHER: I haven't read the whole editorial so I'm not going to analyze it.

QUESTION: Right. Well, I'm wondering, if you could find out if this is something that you guys are raising with Saudi diplomats through official channels, or if it's just something that's going out over VOA, I would appreciate it.

MR. BOUCHER: I'll find out for you.

QUESTION: Senator Biden last week invited members of the Iranian parliament to come to Washington for a meeting. Was that something done in consultation with the State Department, or is that completely separate? I think basically they've turned it down already, but that seems to be a pretty -- it would be a pretty big deal if it really were to be taken seriously.

MR. BOUCHER: We've talked about it a little bit before. I'll give you the whole position at this point. The United States continues to promote and pursue cultural, scientific, educational and people-to-people exchanges between the United States and Iranian people as a means of promoting positive change inside Iran and increasing understanding between Americans and Iranians. In the past few years, the Iranian people have displayed a powerful desire for reform and a return of the rule of law and engagement with the West, as evidenced by the election of reform-minded candidates in local and national elections.

It is our sincere hope that these desires of the Iranian people can be turned into reality, resulting in fundamental change in Iran's policy and a role in the international environment. Until now, however, their desires have been blocked by an unelected few in the Iranian Government who continue to support terrorism, pursue weapons of mass destruction, oppose the Middle East peace process, and flout international human rights standards. So it's our hope that these exchanges could occur and would occur and would continue, and that they would contribute to the process of reform.

QUESTION: Anything on this offer in particular?

MR. BOUCHER: Just that, that these kinds of offers, exchanges of legislators or others, we think can be useful and important in encouraging the process of reform.

QUESTION: Is there any way to tell whether it gets more likely the longer that Khatami's Government is in power, or less likely? Is there any way to tell?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't want to speculate. I think we have to base our assessment on the facts at this point. As you say, it doesn't look like there has been a positive reaction, frankly.

QUESTION: One question on Colombia. Last week the White House said it would be asking Congress this week to ease the restrictions on US aid. I wonder what the State Department is doing on that and when we can expect anything.

MR. BOUCHER: The week is still young.

QUESTION: That's all?

MR. BOUCHER: That's about all I can say at this moment.

QUESTION: Going back to the subject of detained politicians and cases being closed, the Kyrgyz Government released the opposition person whose arrest had sparked all this unrest there. With his release, is that case closed now, or are you still going to be pressing the Kyrgyz to keep up their democratic moves?

MR. BOUCHER: Do I have to talk about the fact that I don't see the parallels between whatever it is you're drawing the parallel to?

QUESTION: I'm not drawing any parallel.

MR. BOUCHER: You seem to try. In any case, what do we think about the release in Kyrgyzstan? First of all, we commend the Kyrgyz Government's March 19th decision to release legislative assembly committee chairman Azimbek Beknazarov pending announcement of a verdict in his trial. We hope that the decision of the court will take into account the significant irregularities that occurred during the trial. We have also expressed to senior levels of the Kyrgyzstan's Government our concerns that Mr. Beknazarov's arrest appears to have been politically motivated.

QUESTION: Have you all finished your review on the Zimbabwe elections and your talks with neighboring countries, and have you decided to take further steps against that government?

MR. BOUCHER: At this point we don't have any further steps to announce. Those are still under consideration. We are in touch with other governments about these matters and we'll continue to be.

QUESTION: Do you regard the Commonwealth decision to suspend Zimbabwe for one year as evidence that the South Africans and the Nigerians are now on your -- are now agreeing with you?

MR. BOUCHER: I saw the news just breaking. I'm not exactly sure I can comment on it because I'm not exactly sure I understand exactly what the -- I'm not exactly sure I understand what the Commonwealth has done. I would say our view remains that the overwhelming evidence is that the election was not free, nor fair. The pre-election period was marked by a sustained government-orchestrated campaign of intimidation and violence and numerous and profound irregularities in the electoral process itself that resulted in an outcome that doesn't reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe. We have made clear we don't see Mr. Mugabe as having democratic legitimacy, and it's a fundamentally flawed election that can only increase the suffering of the Zimbabwean people.

We are consulting closely with other governments to develop an appropriate response to this major setback to democracy in Zimbabwe. Among the responses we're considering is using other sanctions against those responsible for undermining democracy in Zimbabwe. As you know, there have been a number of observer missions who have noted the flaws in this election. We are somewhat disappointed that some African countries professing to support and practice democratic values have turned a blind eye to the blatant abuse of those values which occurred during the Zimbabwean polls. But we remain committed to supporting the people of Zimbabwe and working with those international partners who are committed to seeing the rule of law and democracy restored there.

QUESTION: Does that "turning a blind eye" mean that -- your accusation that they turned a blind eye mean that they might see some US displeasure registered in their direction?

MR. BOUCHER: I'll leave it at this for the moment. As I said, we're considering sanctions on the people who stole democracy in Zimbabwe. I'm not in a position to go beyond that at this point.

QUESTION: On Thursday, the House International Relations Committee is going to have a hearing on a bill to reorganize the State Department's public diplomacy functions. In fact, that's your office, isn't it? Yeah.

MR. BOUCHER: Me and others, yes.

QUESTION: To strengthen the Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy -- do you have any comment on this? Did the State Department participate in the drawing up of this bill? Was it consulted?

MR. BOUCHER: We were -- certainly we've got copies of the legislation to review. I'll have to double-check and see if we have actually gotten our response up to the Hill yet. But we have been looking at it.

QUESTION: Oh, and if you have a response, can we see that response?

MR. BOUCHER: I'll see if I can do that for you, yes.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: A very quick one. You mentioned -- to go back to Mr. Bustani, you mentioned his ill-considered initiatives. Do you have any examples of those?

MR. BOUCHER: Not at this point, no.

QUESTION: Richard, can I go to Russia for one second? You guys are going to -- you're having nonproliferation talks with them this week in Geneva. Is there anything that you're --

MR. BOUCHER: Yes. Under Secretary Bolton and Deputy Foreign Minister Mamedov will be meeting in Geneva, and that will occur on -- that will occur later this week. I think it's Thursday and Friday. They are going out to try to codify further strategic arms reductions in the context of our strategic framework discussions with the Russians.

QUESTION: Okay. Presumably this was discussed -- the Secretary and Foreign Minister Ivanov discussed this in their Friday phone call? That was one of the things that came up, along with chickens and the Middle East?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes, chickens, we're still talking chickens. The strategic framework issues are pretty much always a subject of one of their phone calls, and clearly we also had his homologue, Mr. Ivanov, Defense Minister, here and discussed all those issues. So this is a continuation of the ongoing discussions at different levels, including previous discussions that Bolton and Mamedov have had.

QUESTION: In the course of that conversation, did the Secretary and Foreign Minister Ivanov agree in principle to meet somewhere in Europe in the second week of April, before the NATO foreign ministers meeting in -- sorry?

QUESTION: I thought we knew that.

QUESTION: Did they?

MR. BOUCHER: They agreed to meet before Reykjavik, before the next NATO foreign ministers and NATO Russian ministers meetings. But we have not announced time or place yet.

QUESTION: Right, okay, well Madrid and Berlin seem to be the two places. What do you --

MR. BOUCHER: I have no announcements for you today. I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:45 p.m. EST.)

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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