*EPF201 06/29/2004
Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, June 29
(Iran, Cuba, Canada, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, France, Kuwait, Libya, Iraq, Argentina, China) (3480)

State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli briefed reporters June 29.

Following is the transcript of the State Department briefing:

(begin transcript)

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing Index
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
12:55 p.m. EDT

BRIEFER: Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman

IRAN
-- Departure of Iranian U.N. Mission Security Guards
-- U.S. Concerns Regarding Iran's Nuclear Program/Bushehr Facility

CUBA
-- Extension of Deadline for Return of Travelers from Family Visits

CANADA
-- U.S. Reaction to Election Process and Election Results

SIERRA LEONE
-- Query on the Possibility of American Citizens on Board U.N. Plane

AFGHANISTAN
-- Use of Troops Deployed under North Atlantic Treaty Organization

FRANCE
-- U.S.-France Bilateral Relationship

KUWAIT
-- Kuwait's Decision to Resume Diplomatic Ties with Iraq

LIBYA
-- Restoring U.S.-Libya Diplomatic Ties/U.S. Diplomatic Property
-- Status of Libya Interests Section in the United States/Diplomatic Property

IRAQ
-- Transfer of Custody of Saddam Hussein to the Iraqi Interim Government
-- U.S.-Iraq Cooperation on Projects for Iraqi Reconstruction
-- Importance of Providing Security for Iraqi Civilians & Foreign Contractors

ARGENTINA
-- U.S.-Argentina Bilateral Relationship/Areas of Cooperation

CHINA
-- Visit by U.S. Consular Officer to Charles Lee

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2004
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

12:55 p.m. EDT

MR. ERELI: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the daily briefing at the State Department. I am statement-free today, so who would like to have the first question? We'll just start with the front row.

QUESTION: On a story that's just breaking today, do you have any comment on these two guards at the Iranian office at the UN? They apparently were expelled from the country for videotaping the Statue of Liberty and bridges and so forth, which is, the last time I checked, not -- I don't think it's against the law somehow.

MR. ERELI: This is the third time the United States has required the departure of Iranian security guards for this kind of activity, which is inconsistent with their official duties. What happened in this latest incident is that two Iranian security guards from the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in New York departed over the weekend at the request of the United States. They had been observed by the FBI videotaping various locations from New York deemed to be sensitive. I am not in a position to confirm what locations they were so I'm not confirming the locations in your questions.

But the important point here is that on a number of occasions we have informed the Iranian Mission to the UN about our concern for this kind of activity. We did so in this latest incidence. We did this in this latest incident when we reminded the Iranian Mission that in previous cases we had asked the security guards to leave, we had also made it clear that this kind of activity was unacceptable, and yet it continued in this latest case so we were really left -- this was the option that we were left with.

Yes.

QUESTION: Do you know, Adam, if they were filming or videotaping like a tourist would do or were they filming conspicuous parts of those sites, or how did the FBI people know that they might use the information they're gathering for certain purposes?

MR. ERELI: Let me put it this way. This is -- as I said before, this is a recurring problem, and in the case of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations, it represented a unique pattern that raised concerns of law enforcement and we thought that -- it was our view that based on previous behavior, this -- and what we were seeing, that this was the appropriate action to take.

Yes.

QUESTION: Is this on this?

QUESTION: It's on Iran, but a different --

QUESTION: Yeah. It's okay.

QUESTION: -- another issue. And the chief of IAEA, Director General Mohammed ElBaradei, was in Russia today, where he had talks with President Putin, and he said after his talks that the nuclear facility of Bushehr, which is usually a source of concern for the U.S., according to Mr. ElBaradei, was no longer at the center of international concern for his agency. Do you share his views on that?

MR. ERELI: I have not seen Mr. -- Dr. ElBaradei's remarks. I think that the concerns of the United States are shared by the international community, as expressed in the last Board of Governors resolution that expresses concern over Iran's continued nuclear -- continued nuclear program, failure to abide by treaty commitments, failure to abide by commitments made to the IAEA, failure to provide information and cooperate with investigations.

Those are the concerns that we have. I am not in a position to go into every particular site, other than to say that this is an issue that we have been -- we and the IAEA and the Board of Governors has been very clear about for some time.

QUESTION: Adam, for years and years, you've been saying repeatedly that Bushehr was a source of major, enormous concern for the U.S., and now you're saying that you don't have anything specific to say about this facility?

MR. ERELI: No, I didn't -- I said that -- what I'm saying is that our concerns were made clear in the latest Board of Governors resolution. Iran has nuclear activity that we believe is part of a clandestine program and that it needs to come clean.

QUESTION: Is he a part of this clandestine --

MR. ERELI: That's all I have to say on it at this moment.

QUESTION: Can I change the subject?

MR. ERELI: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: This is on Cuba and the new travel restrictions and all that stuff. There's been a real lot of chaos at the Miami Airport with Cuban-Americans trying to reach the island before the deadline of June 30th. I understand some of the travel restrictions have been extended. Could you help flesh this out a little bit?

MR. ERELI: What's the -- I don't know, what's the question?

QUESTION: Well, the question is: Could you talk a little bit about the travel restrictions that are ending -- that are starting today vis-��-vis getting down to Cuba? And I understand there's been an extension to come back by July 31st; is that right?

MR. ERELI: Well, let me see what I -- if I can help clarify things.

On June 15th, we published new travel regulations that required travelers in Cuba on family visits to return by June 30th. In response to those regulations, travelers expressed concern -- travelers and others expressed concern that they may not be able to get back in time. So, as a result of that, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of Treasury, on June 25th, extended the deadline to July 31st for family travelers.

So now, instead of having to return by June 30th, they have until July 31st to return and we took this action in order to ensure that the return travel would be safe and orderly.

QUESTION: What about -- what about -- should a traveler that's here, do they have -- they have until June 30th to leave for Cuba? I think that's what the chaos is today in Miami, that all the Cuban-Americans are trying to reach Cuba before the -- before tomorrow's deadline.

MR. ERELI: Our view on that is that, given the fact that we're -- the new regulations are restrictive of travel, that going down and coming back before July 30th would be inconsistent with our new policy, which is to reduce the hard flow of currency to the Castro regime, and that it would be inconsistent with the intent of the extension to July 31st, which was to ensure that travelers could come and go in an orderly and safe fashion. So the idea of somehow you've got an extra window so let's rush to get in there and rush to get out is not consistent with the spirit of the extension, the original extension.

QUESTION: Not consistent with the spirit of extension, but is it illegal to do that or just --

MR. ERELI: I don't have a -- I'm not in a position to give you a legal ruling on it.

QUESTION: You just don't think that they should be --

MR. ERELI: Right.

QUESTION: -- to be honorable American citizens?

MR. ERELI: It's not a question of being honorable American citizens. It's to be -- to comply with the spirit of the regulations.

QUESTION: Two questions on yesterday's Canadian election. First of all, can you comment on Paul Martin's victory, and specifically does the U.S. have to be preoccupied by the fact of his leading a minority government in terms, for example, of Canadian support to missile defense?

MR. ERELI: We congratulate the Canadian people for conducting a vigorous and fair electoral campaign. It serves as an example to the hemisphere. We particularly congratulate Prime Minister Paul Martin on yesterday's results and we look forward to a continuing close and productive relationship with his government. I won't speculate as to how coalition politics are going to work and leave it to the Canadian Government to speak to its future policies.

QUESTION: No comment about the fact that it's a minority government? There's no specific worries?

MR. ERELI: It reflects the will of the people.

Yes, Tammy.

QUESTION: Can I ask about the UN helicopter crash in Sierra Leone? Do you know --

MR. ERELI: You can, but I don't have anything.

QUESTION: Ah, okay. I was going to ask if you knew if there were any Americans aboard.

MR. ERELI: No, I haven't seen anything on it. I'll check.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. ERELI: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Adam, about two other election-type issues. In Indonesia, prior to the Asian-Pacific Forum, they're coming up to recent elections in the near term. There've been talks of bribing various people. And secondly, France has also, election-wise has blocked the United States in Afghanistan about using NATO troops to ensure a safe and secure election there. Any thoughts concerning that?

MR. ERELI: I don't have anything on Jakarta. On the use of NATO troops there, they're deployed in Afghanistan under NATO command according to mission statement and rules that are duly vetted with NATO. It's not a question of our giving them a mission or not. It's a question of them operating according to the mission that NATO defines in consultation with the Government of Afghanistan, and we support that understanding.

QUESTION: But has Chirac been even-handed with the U.S.? He's been giving us troubles the last year with Iraq. And do you think that the comments that he's made recently in Turkey are wise on his part?

MR. ERELI: I don't have any particular reaction to statements or comments by President Chirac. I think he had excellent meetings at -- we had excellent meetings with our French partners in Sea Island, in Ireland and in Istanbul, and I think what we see coming out of all those meetings is a newfound consensus and mutual support in moving forward on a whole range of important issues to the United States and our European partners, and the United States and France.

Sir.

QUESTION: Adam, given the history of Iraq and Kuwait relations, would you please comment on Kuwait's decision yesterday to resume diplomatic ties with Iraq?

MR. ERELI: I think that's, first and foremost, something that you should ask the Kuwaiti Government. I mean, this is the restoration of bilateral relations between two states, of which we are not one. Certainly, what I think we are seeing since UN Security Council Resolution 1546, the naming of the Iraqi Interim Government and now the transfer of sovereignty and the assumption of its duties, is a welcoming of Iraq back into the fold of nations, back into the community of nations, and a recognition by all of us that we have a stake in supporting Iraq and ensuring that its journey to democracy and freedom and stability is successful.

So to the extent that Iraq neighbors have recognized this and welcomed it, that's a very positive thing. But I'd refer you to the Kuwaitis for specific comment on what this means to them.

QUESTION: Well, we've done that. I was wondering what the U.S. thought of it. Thanks.

QUESTION: What is the U.S. going to do about an embassy in Libya? Is there a building that already exists that gets refurbished? Is there a new one? And what embassy is the U.S. operating out of now?

MR. ERELI: All good questions, but somewhat premature. You're obviously referring to the announcement yesterday that we would be restoring direct diplomatic ties with the Government of Libya. What this means in practice is that we will be ending our protecting power agreement with Belgium and dealing directly with the Government of Libya on those issues which are -- which will -- on those issues which are part of our working relationship with the Government of Libya.

In, I guess, physical terms, it doesn't signal that much of a shift in the sense that we have a diplomatic property there that was in -- that is in a terrible state of disrepair. It is not a property that we are close to inhabiting. I'm not even aware that we've sort of decided what we're going to do with the property.

So those are questions, I think, that are dealt with far down the road. We have a limited number of diplomatic personnel there to do the work that we have with the Libyans and they're working out of a hotel until an interim property is located. That hasn't happened yet, so it's temporary quarters for now.

QUESTION: A follow-up. Are there Libyan officials here in the U.S. meeting with officials this week?

MR. ERELI: I'll have to check on that. I know that there was some interest among you about whether Libya has opened an interest section here or what their plans are. Libya was invited on February 26th to open an interest section in Washington. They haven't done so yet. As far as what their plans are, I'd refer you to them.

QUESTION: Can you take the question, if they're here meeting? And also, if they were invited, they were invited to have an interest section, but you just opened up a liaison office.

MR. ERELI: Right.

QUESTION: So are you inviting them to raise the level of diplomatic representation here?

MR. ERELI: Well, we have done that. I think that's a little bit premature, since they haven't yet had an interest section. But, obviously, we'd be willing to entertain, I think, whatever proposals are appropriate and necessary to conduct the level of business that we need to conduct.

QUESTION: Is there already an existing Libyan embassy?

MR. ERELI: In Washington?

QUESTION: Yes.

MR. ERELI: Well, I'm not aware if there is a property that used to be a Libyan embassy and what the status of that property is. Let me check on it and see if our buildings -- our Office of Foreign Missions has anything on that for you.

Yes.

QUESTION: Do you have anything new on the Saddam handover?

MR. ERELI: Not much new to what has already been said, I think, by any number of officials. Let me see if I can give you a thumbnail on it.

Obviously, the Iraq -- the interim Iraqi government wants to take over custody, as soon as possible, of high-value detainees. We want to be responsive to that request. We are working closely with the government of Iraq to facilitate the transfer. My understanding is that warrants for the arrest of 12 high-value detainees were issued by an Iraq criminal court today. A transfer of custody will take place tomorrow and, at some point, the high-value detainees will appear before an Iraqi judge.

QUESTION: Can you just verify that's legal custody, not physical custody?

MR. ERELI: Physical custody, yes. That is, it's legal custody. In terms of physical custody, the Iraqi -- the interim Iraqi government has requested that the multinational forces continue to maintain physical custody of the high-value detainees until the Iraqi corrections service is fully capable of providing for their safety and secure detention. And a Memorandum of Understanding to that effect has been arrived at between the Ministry of Justice and the multinational force.

Yes, Paul

QUESTION: The Iraqi ambassador to the U.S. spoke this morning in town, and among the things she said was that too many contracts that are going over there are for complicated, high-dollar, high-technology projects that Iraqi civilians or Iraqi workers aren't qualified for doing, and thinks that there needs to be a lot more emphasis on smaller projects that their companies can do. Is there anything you can say about that, whether that's -- whether you agree with that, one; and, two, whether that's maybe a trend that we'll be seeing, you know, in the days and months ahead?

MR. ERELI: An important principle that we are aware of and sympathetic to and that we are going to follow is that in deciding on projects for Iraqi reconstruction with money from the supplemental, we need to do it in coordination with and consultation with our Iraqi partners. These projects and these programs need to be responsive to Iraqi concerns and need to not only benefit but be seen to benefit the Iraqi people.

So without going into -- giving you too specific or too -- too specific an answer, I would simply say that it is a principle that we will follow to listen to and accommodate and work with our Iraqi partners so that the reconstruction dollars can be spent in ways that are beneficial to Iraqis.

Yes.

QUESTION: There's a Turkish company that's withdrawing its contracts, I would assume, out of the Kurdish areas in the north, following this release of three detainees that weren't beheaded. Do you see any more intimidation by other contractors or companies in Iraq? And is it our purview or now the Iraqis' to deal with that?

MR. ERELI: The issue of security and providing security for Iraqi civilians and foreign contractors is a top priority of the government of Iraq. It is something that Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has said publicly will be a focus of his attention and the attention of his government. It is, as you are very aware, a top priority for the United States, and you can look forward to the multinational force working closely with the Iraqi government and the growing numbers of Iraqi security forces to prevent attacks against innocent civilians, to secure the country's infrastructure from those who seek to wantonly destroy it and to provide an environment in which those who want to contribute to a prosperous Iraq can do so.

Thank you.

Any more?

QUESTION: Do you have any reaction to the Argentinean Foreign Minister, who said today that his country was "fed up," and I'm quoting him, at the present U.S. Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Roger Noriega?

MR. ERELI: I have seen press reports of those comments. I don't have any -- any particular reaction to them. What I would say is that the United States and Argentina have a positive and constructive bilateral relationship that covers all aspects of mutual interests from trade to investment to regional and multilateral cooperation.

In the past, I think we've been very outspoken about applauding the Argentine Government's leadership in dispatching a peacekeeping contingent to support the UN Mission in Haiti. We appreciate Argentina's constructive role in supporting democracy in Bolivia and we are cooperating closely with Argentina in the fight against terrorism.

Yes, ma'am.

QUESTION: Do you have any update on the case of Charles Lee, a U.S. citizen jailed in China?

MR. ERELI: A consular officer from the consulate in Shanghai visited Mr. Lee on June 10th. This was the 21st face-to-face meeting with Mr. Lee and the 35th time a U.S. consular official has spoken with him since his arrest in January. During the latest visit, Mr. Lee reported that he is no longer performing light manual labor in the prison shoe factory, and he said that he is feeling well and he had no complaints about how he is being treated. We will, obviously, continue to monitor Mr. Lee's welfare and well-being while he remains in custody serving the remainder of his sentence.

Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: Do you have anything about the (inaudible) of Australian citizen in South Africa? They went to South Africa to appeal to the two Chinese official visitor there and tried to serve them with legal papers.

MR. ERELI: No, I don't have anything.

QUESTION: Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:20 p.m.)

(end transcript)

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