*EPF301 08/11/2004
Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, August 11
(Venezuela, Iran, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Cyprus, Israel/Palestinians, North Korea, Department/Rewards for Justice Program, Iraq, India, Mauritania) (5120)

State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli briefed the press August 11.

Following is the transcript of the State Department briefing:

(begin transcript)

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing Index
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
12:45 p.m. EDT

BRIEFER: Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman

VENEZUELA
-- Statement by Secretary Powell on August 15 Presidential Recall Referendum/U.S. View of Referendum

IRAN
-- Continuing U.S. Concern about Clandestine Weapons Programs
Query Regarding Arrest of Individual Claiming to Have U.S. Citizenship

SRI LANKA
-- Status of U.S. Embassy Operations and Testing of Unidentified White Powder

SUDAN
-- Various Reports on Situation in Darfur/Importance of Comprehensive Assessment/Inadequacy of Security and Humanitarian Situation
-- Benchmarks and Standards under UN Security Council Resolution 1556/30-Day Report by UN Secretary General Annan
-- U.S. Assessment of Security and Humanitarian Situation in Darfur/Efforts to Improve the Situation

CYPRUS
-- Query Regarding Certification of Airports
-- U.S. Support of UN Secretary General's Recommendation on Eliminating Isolation of Turkish Cypriots/Examination of U.S. Policies

ISRAEL/PALESTINAINS
-- U.S. Reaction to Suicide Bombing Near Jerusalem

NORTH KOREA
-- Exchange of Greetings between U.S. Special Envoy DeTrani and Mr. Li Gun

DEPARTMENT
-- Query Regarding Rewards for Justice Program/Eligibility and Status of Rewards for Recent Captures

IRAQ
-- Bilateral Relationship with Iran/Prime Minister Allawi's Travel/Promotion of Good Regional Relationships

INDIA
-- Secretary Powell's Meeting with Ambassador-Designate to the United States

DEPARTMENT
-- Consensus of Views between Secretary Powell and Deputy Secretary Armitage

MAURITANIA
-- Query Regarding Recent Developments in Mauritania

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2004
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

12:45 p.m. EDT

MR. ERELI: Good afternoon. Let me begin with a statement by Secretary Powell on the Venezuelan referendum. Venezuela's August 15th presidential recall referendum is an opportunity for the Venezuelan people to exercise their constitutional and democratic rights. If conducted freely, fairly and transparently, this referendum will be an important step towards a peaceful electoral, democratic and constitutional solution of Venezuela's longstanding political crisis.

Effective electoral observation is vital to the credibility of this referendum. The United States strongly supports the work of the Organization of American States and the Carter Center. We urge that they be given the unrestricted access necessary to do their jobs. The United States calls on all Venezuelans to reject violence and intimidation and to respect the rights of others. Venezuela's future is in the hands of its citizens. The United States stands firmly with them, as they seek to strengthen their democracy and promote national reconciliation.

And that's our view of Venezuelan referendum. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: That's not much of a view. Can the political crisis be resolved peacefully, in your view, if the vote on the referendum is for -- is no?

MR. ERELI: I'm not going to speculate on outcome of the vote. What's important, in our view, is that this process go forward peacefully, transparently, and in a way that gives everybody the freedom to exercise their rights without pressure or intimidation. And that's the benchmark by which we will look at this process.

QUESTION: Based on what you have seen so far, do you think that that is what has obtained?

MR. ERELI: I think we've obviously made it clear what our benchmarks are. We've also made it clear that we think that the Venezuelan Government has a special responsibility to ensure a proper environment that's conducive to the exercise of these rights. We've also noted, I think, in the past, concerns that we've had about examples of harassment and intimidation. We spoke, most recently, about what we saw as politically-motivated investigations of the NGO, Sumate.

We've also noted with concern the continued incarceration of the mayor of the Baruta municipality, as well as reports of retaliation against individuals who signed the recall referendum petition. So there are -- there have been incidents of concern, but I'm certainly not going to prejudge the process that unfolds on Sunday.

QUESTION: Moving on?

MR. ERELI: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: Do you have any reaction to Iran testing a Shihab-3?

MR. ERELI: I hadn't seen that report, no reaction, other than to underscore our continuing concern about Iran's clandestine weapons programs. We believe they're of concern and we are working with our international partners to address them. I don't have any specific reaction to this test.

QUESTION: Well, could you take the question and see if you have any more to say about it once you've looked into it?

MR. ERELI: Sure.

QUESTION: Yes, but this is far from clandestine. I mean, they announced it on state television.

MR. ERELI: Well, they've got a clandestine weapons program, which, combined with delivery systems, is a threat to stability.

QUESTION: Also on Iran.

MR. ERELI: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: The Iranians are saying that they have arrested a man who claimed to be a U.S. citizen, who tried to cross into Iran. Do you have anything on this?

MR. ERELI: I don't.

QUESTION: Could you take that one, too? (Laughter.) Yes, he is said to be a Californian and he claims U.S. citizenship, and I think our report said that he was arrested when he sought to leave.

MR. ERELI: Let me make sure I understand what the question. Do we have anything on an Iranian-American who's reported --

QUESTION: Just an American.

MR. ERELI: As an American citizen who is reported to have been arrested crossing into Iran?

QUESTION: Into or out of. It seems like there are different reports.

MR. ERELI: I will check with our Consular Affairs people and see.

QUESTION: May I clamor for some news on Sri Lanka?

MR. ERELI: You may.

QUESTION: Do you have any idea when the Embassy is going to reopen, one; and, two, are Embassy officials taking antibiotics as a sort of precautionary measure in case it turns out to have been anthrax or some other disease in the white powder envelope?

MR. ERELI: Our Embassy is -- was closed yesterday in response to an unidentified white powder that was received in some mail. It remains closed today. The reason is because testing continues. I don't have a date for you when it will be open. Obviously, we want to do it as quickly as possible but we also want to do it as safely as possible. I'm not aware that prophylactics have been administered in response to this. I'll check and see.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. ERELI: I had not heard that.

QUESTION: Is the Embassy going to remain closed while you -- until you receive the results of the testing? Are you in process of fumigating it?

MR. ERELI: We are in the process of determining what the white powder was and --

QUESTION: Are you waiting to see --

MR. ERELI: And my understanding is that the item in question that had the white powder went through a number of locations of the Embassy so the places that we need to check are numerous.

QUESTION: So are you --

MR. ERELI: And so that's why it's taking a little -- that's why it's taken as long as it's taken.

QUESTION: I see. But are you taking precautionary measures to fumigate the Embassy or are you just waiting to see what the tests show?

MR. ERELI: At this point we're just -- we're waiting for the rest results.

Yes, Tammy.

QUESTION: Sudan. There's a new Human Rights Watch report which talks about attacks continuing by the Jingaweit. Do you have evidence to support this? Are there any more pleas being made by the Secretary to the Sudanese Government to make good on its commitments?

MR. ERELI: I'd put it this way. We -- you know, obviously, we've seen these reports. I would add that, you know, we're getting information from a variety of sources. We're getting information from AU -- African Union observers who are there, we're getting information from aid workers, we're getting information from our own people and our own resources, as well as others.

So there is a, I think, a steady stream of information about the situation in Darfur, much of it troubling. Without speaking to the specific reports, what I would say is that we continue to watch the situation carefully. We continue to collect information. There -- as you know, and as we've said consistently, there remain major problems in Darfur, with respect to both the security, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid.

We are, along with our other partners in the African Union and the Secretary General's office, in the EU, in the Arab League, working to keep Sudan to its commitments. This is a process that was laid -- this was a process that was laid out in the most recent Security Council resolution. It calls for action in 30 days, and it calls for a report from the Secretary General in 30 days.

What we are looking for, frankly, rather than respond to, you know, every day the different report, what we are looking for is a comprehensive assessment that is based on the actions that the Government of Sudan took in fulfillment of the commitments it made, both on July 3rd, and as expressed in the Security Council resolution.

At this point, I'm not going to comment on each specific report. We're going to continue working with our partners, we're going to continue compiling the information, and we're going to, I think, consider very carefully the comprehensive report that is presented at the end of this 30-day period.

QUESTION: Well, Adam, without answering each specific charge or each specific question, I mean, it's a fairly general question whether you see that there's been a continuation of attacks by the Jingaweit.

MR. ERELI: As we've said before, there continue -- the security situation in Darfur remains wholly inadequate. There is not the level of disarming and the level of prosecution and arrest and containment of the Jingaweit that has been committed to both in the communiqué with the Secretary General, July 3rd, and in the plan with the UN and the Government of Sudan.

So those benchmarks have not yet been met based on what we've seen. But, as I said, let's not prejudge things. And I don't want to give you a -- I don't want to give you a conclusive judgment every day because that's not -- that's not -- it's not accurate, it's not faithful. We need to wait to get all the information and have those empowered and authorized to do so to make the report and make our judgments on the basis of that full consideration of everything.

QUESTION: Well, Adam, that hasn't stopped you, the Secretary and Administrator Natsios and, you know, and Richard for the past -- as well as others -- for the past month from coming out and really, you know, sticking it to the Sudanese Government for what they're doing. So it seems as though --

MR. ERELI: And I'm not --

QUESTION: -- at the moment you've decided to -- you've made a deliberate decision to try and tone down the rhetoric against the government in the hope that they will comply with the UN resolution.

MR. ERELI: I wouldn't read it that way. I would just -- the question was asked if --

QUESTION: It's pretty difficult to read it any other way.

MR. ERELI: No, the question was asked about a specific report and I'm not going to --

QUESTION: Well --

MR. ERELI: I'm not going to respond to the specific report because, frankly, I'm not in a position to do so. What I can tell you is our -- you know, our overall assessment that we've expressed very clearly by both Mr. Boucher and the Secretary has not changed, and I reiterated it in my earlier comments about the security and humanitarian situation being wholly inadequate. So, for the record, we have restated our position and I restated it again today very clearly and no departure from previous statements.

But, in response to the specific question about the specific report, I'm just saying that I'm not in a position to confirm it, to disabuse you of it or anything else; rather, it is yet another piece of information that we need to look at seriously, we need to take into account and we need to put into the mix when coming to a conclusion in 30 days, as called for in the Security Council resolution.

QUESTION: Yeah. But, Adam, in the past and, you know, two months ago when you start -- I realize you've been engaged on this -- the U.S. has been engaged on this for a long time now. But two months when it really started coming to the head -- to a head, when there would be reports that are similar to this, you would say there are credible reports. There are -- we think that this is -- we think that these reports have some merit to them, and this one you're --

MR. ERELI: I'm not dismissing this report and don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that there is not -- there are not problems with humanitarian -- provision of humanitarian assistance and I'm not saying there are not problems with the security situation. I'm just not commenting on this specific report.

QUESTION: Or the general situation other than --

MR. ERELI: And saying that if you --

QUESTION: -- the fact that it's -- what's been done --

MR. ERELI: -- and cautioning you against asking me for comments on every report every day because, basically, we've got, I don't know, 20 more days until the Secretary General presents his report to the Security Council and that is a process that I don't want to prejudge because it involves a lot of -- it involves a lot of work by a lot of people and we think it best to let that process take its course. And, clearly, I think you know where we stand on this issue.

QUESTION: If you've got information coming from a variety of sources, a steady stream of information coming in, why aren't you in a position to confirm some of these reports? And not just the new Amnesty report but, I mean, yesterday there were reports of helicopter attacks again and that can only come from one place and everybody knows it.

MR. ERELI: Yeah --

QUESTION: So if you've got a steady stream of information coming in, why can't you say whether you think that's true or not?

MR. ERELI: Because it's -- because I'm not going to give you a running commentary and evaluation on every single report that's coming in. Some of them -- first of all, you're looking for an immediate reaction. Sometimes the answer is not there right away. Sometimes the answer is not clear. Sometimes the answer, the real answer, comes in -- or becomes clear over time. So this is --

QUESTION: Eighteen months?

MR. ERELI: Well, I mean, for instance, on the helicopter gunships, it's not clear that there were helicopter gunships. I can't confirm that for you, that report. Just not in a position to do it.

So -- and I'm also -- the other point I'm making is that if you -- that the way the international community decided to deal with this issue, in Resolution 1546 -- was it 1546?

QUESTION: I can't remember the number either.

MR. ERELI: In the United Nations Security Council -- yeah, 1556. In Resolution 1556 was, here are the benchmarks, here are the standards and the actions by which we are going to evaluate Sudan's commitment, fulfillment of its international commitments, and we're going to do that in 30 days. We're not going to do it every day from the State Department podium. We're going to do it in 30 days on the basis of a report from the Secretary General.

QUESTION: But that basically gives them a free pass for another 30 days.

MR. ERELI: No, it doesn't. It says, these are the -- quite the contrary, it says in 30 days, you're going to have to answer to the Security Council on the basis of these commitments and on the basis of saying you were going to undertake these specific actions. So I don't see how that lets anybody off the hook.

QUESTION: Well, the point is, Adam, I think you just said, basically what I said -- what I suggested to you might have been a decision before, which is that, you know, before the resolution passed, you were, in fact, offering a running commentary on what was going on in Darfur, and now -- and even last week, almost. But now, there has been a decision made to not do a running commentary, and so I'm just asking, you know, why?

MR. ERELI: I would take issue with what you just said on two grounds. One is, I wouldn't say we gave a running commentary. We gave our assessment, we gave our view that the picture was mixed and that not enough was being done in the area of security, and that humanitarian -- more needed to be done in the area of humanitarian. That assessment has not changed, so that's point one.

Point two, there's been no decision to back off until the 30 days, so don't labor under that misapprehension. The fact is that what everybody agreed to in 1556 was to keep the pressure up, keep the spotlight on what's going on in Sudan. Hence, you've got African Union monitors there, you've got international aid workers there, you've got an AU protection force going there in a week or so.

So keep the spotlight on, which is what we're doing, continue working with our partners to get Sudan to do what it committed to, and in 30 days, to hear a report from the Secretary General on what's been done. I don't see how that's lightening up or backing off in any way, shape or form.

QUESTION: I have a question about the protection force. Is there going to be any U.S. backup for that? I know the Dutch are offering to fly them in. Are we going to be involved in that in any way?

MR. ERELI: We are providing logistical support for their basis of operation in Darfur.

QUESTION: What does that mean?

MR. ERELI: Structures, I think, communications facilities.

QUESTION: Okay, and that -- is that through USA -- I mean --

MR. ERELI: I'd have to check on how, you know, the logistics of how it's being provided.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. ERELI: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: On Cyprus. Any response to my yesterday's pending question if you consider the two airports of the occupied territory of Cyprus as legal or illegal?

MR. ERELI: I think you're talking about -- what you're really referring to is a question of certification of air worthiness or meeting U.S. aviation standards and that is something that is being done by the Federal Aviation Authority and I'd refer you to them. This is not a political issue. This is a purely -- my understanding, it's a purely technical question.

QUESTION: But according to reliable sources, your government sent a letter to ICAO, International Civil Aviation Organization, asking them to change the status of the illegal airports of the Turkish occupied territory of Cyprus to legal in order to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, by your request. Was it exacted?

MR. ERELI: Wait, wait, wait. Reliable sources? What reliable sources?

QUESTION: The ICAO, but I am saying to you, but I am not going to mention any official. But your request --

MR. ERELI: Well --

QUESTION: Was it exacted on the ground that ICAO is dealing -- is not dealing with illegal airports and gets instructions only from the UN. Since the matter is pure political, may we know what is all about?

MR. ERELI: It is not pure political, it is pure technical. And it is about technical issues that are the purview of the FAA, and I would refer you to the FAA.

QUESTION: I spoke to FAA yesterday, actually, and the city official told me that FAA never sent a letter to ICAO, because it's dealing only with illegal airports, and in this particular case, is cooperating only with the Cyprus Civil Aviation Administration. In the recent days, did you communicate with FAA as interagency, as in governments, asking them to change the status of their airports from illegal to legal in the occupied territory of Cyprus?

MR. ERELI: I've told you everything I have. I'll check and see if there's anything more I can tell you, that I have to tell you.

QUESTION: Can you check specifically on whether you wrote to the ICAO in Montreal, asking that they -- for any revision in the status of those airports, because, you know, immediately after the referendum failed because of the Greek Cypriot no, there was talk about -- well, there was talk, there was public talk from the Secretary and others about easing the isolation of the north, and there was talk, you know, behind the scenes, that one of the ways to do this would be to basically give that -- give at least one of the airports international status.

MR. ERELI: I'll check.

Yes, Teri.

QUESTION: Any reaction to the latest suicide bombing in Israel?

MR. ERELI: We condemn this act of terror in Jerusalem that injured at least 13 people, both Israelis and Palestinians. In our view, this once again underscores the need for the Palestinian leadership to take immediate and credible steps to end terror and violence. Moreover, we think it also shows that terrorist attacks undermine the aspirations and hopes of the Palestinian people.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. ERELI: Yes, Adi.

QUESTION: Different subject. Any reaction to the Saudi oil announcement today?

MR. ERELI: Hadn't seen it.

QUESTION: Well, can -- they said that they were prepared to increase -- that they were prepared to immediately increase the production of oil to --

MR. ERELI: No, I don't have any reaction to it.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: On North Korea. It is reported that in yesterday or so, Mr. DeTrani had a brief conversation with a North Korean gentleman, Li Gun, in New York conference. Do you have anything on this? If it's true, what kind of conversation did they have?

MR. ERELI: What I can tell you is that, as you know, both Mr. DeTrani and Mr. Li are in New York to take part in a seminar. Also attending the seminar are a number of other international officials, academics and experts. During the course of the seminar, Mr. Li and Mr. DeTrani did exchange greetings and in a way that is natural and to be expected at such gatherings. That is the full extent and detail I have of this incident. It was an exchange of greetings. It was certainly not a meeting. No meetings -- no meetings, bilateral meetings, were scheduled, nor did any take place between Mr. DeTrani and officials of any of the other countries involved in the six-party process.

QUESTION: Was there a conversation? Was there a conversation? Sometimes the Secretary will speak with a North Korean Foreign Minister and he'll call it a conversation but not a meeting so --

MR. ERELI: What I would say was it was an exchange of greetings.

QUESTION: There was no substance to it?

MR. ERELI: Those are all the details I have.

QUESTION: You can't say there was no substance?

MR. ERELI: I can say it was just an exchange of greetings.

QUESTION: Well, one of them didn't say, "Hey, you want to give up your nukes?" The other one says, "Sure." (Laughter.)

MR. ERELI: That does not sound like an exchange of greetings to me.

QUESTION: That's the full extent and detail that you have of this incident or that's the full extent and detail that there is of this?

MR. ERELI: That is the full extent and detail that I have of this exchange.

QUESTION: All right. So, in other words, you're not sure? You don't know because you haven't been told if --

MR. ERELI: No, I was told that it was an exchange of greetings.

QUESTION: And that's it?

MR. ERELI: And that's it.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. ERELI: And that that was the full extent of the exchange.

QUESTION: Now, are you aware there is a report in a South Korean newspaper, in fact, that there was a -- there was after the conference, the opening session of the conference, that there was a meeting that included Mitchell Reiss, DeTrani, Li Gun, a South Korean --

MR. ERELI: There was no meeting.

QUESTION: Well, some kind of conversation, then, between --

MR. ERELI: No --

QUESTION: At which the North Koreans indicated their willingness to continue with the six-party talks?

MR. ERELI: No, I have not heard about that at all.

QUESTION: And if that happened, you would have heard?

MR. ERELI: I've heard that there was a dinner as part of the conference proceedings at which people were, but that there was not an exchange that would meet that description.

QUESTION: The exchange of greetings was during the course of the seminar, not at this dinner?

MR. ERELI: It was in the course of the seminar.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. ERELI: Yes, Adi.

QUESTION: It's certainly been a good couple of weeks for the U.S. in the global war on terrorism with the disclosure of the capture of Khan and al-Hindi and, I believe, some others. My question is: Has the Rewards for Justice Program, the process associated with that program, started in reference to these two individuals? Are these -- is the information provided by individuals who, you know, provide information that led to the capture of these two guys, are they eligible for the Rewards for Justice Program? Has the process started for these two guys?

MR. ERELI: I don't think we've got anything at this point to share with you on that: (a) whether the Rewards for Justice would obtain in these cases; and (b), if it does, where we are in terms of following through. But let me put it this way, if we are in a position to comment as to whether rewards have been provided, I'll get back to you.

Yes.

QUESTION: Adam, if I can just get back quickly to Iran. Iran has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Allawi to come for an official visit. Do you have any reaction to that?

MR. ERELI: My reaction would be this is a bilateral matter between Iraq and Iran. Prime Minister Allawi has recently gone on a tour of Arab states to try to promote good relations with them. As we've been saying since the interim Iraqi government took over, we think it's a good thing for all states in the region, and Iraq's neighbors in particular, to have close, productive and positive relations with Iraq.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Adam, could you please give me a little more detail, sir? India's new Ambassador-Designate, Mr. Ranendra Sen, was in the building meeting with the Secretary Powell this morning. What they discussed and why he was here?

MR. ERELI: This is a formality. It's not a substantive meeting. The Secretary often receives ambassadors prior to their presentation of credentials as a sort of pre-meeting and that was the case in this meeting.

QUESTION: Is the --

QUESTION: Wait one second. One second, sir. I have another one.

MR. ERELI: Yes, go ahead.

QUESTION: Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I thought you were reading something.

MR. ERELI: No, no.

QUESTION: Can you, Adam, please clarify that if Secretary Powell shares the views of Deputy Secretary, Mr. Armitage, who was in Pakistan and India, but in Pakistan he made a statement that there are still terrorist camps in Pakistan? So I just need clarification, really, because the story has been going on all over the globe.

MR. ERELI: I'm not going to comment on the specific report you cite because I would want to see it and make sure that you're citing it correctly and that you're accurately reflecting what Deputy Secretary Armitage said. But I can answer this other part of your question, which is that Secretary Powell and Armitage are totally in synch.

QUESTION: And one more, finally. Do you have any comments on the stories also going around and also during Mr. Armitage's visit that Usama bin Laden is being treated by the Pakistan army in Peshawar along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border?

MR. ERELI: I didn't see anything that Armitage said that sounds like that.

QUESTION: No, he didn't say that. That was the story going on in the press even during his visit there.

MR. ERELI: I'm not going to comment on local press reports.

Yes, Matt.

QUESTION: All right. Thank you.

QUESTION: Do you have any -- what's your understanding, if you have any, of what the situation unfolding in Mauritania over the past 36 hours or so?

MR. ERELI: You are more up on things than I am, Matt. I can't speak to the developments in Mauritania over the last 36 hours, but I will -- I'll endeavor to inform myself.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. ERELI: All right, let me -- Mr. Lambros, I've got something for you on the record. You got your tape recorder so we can put this issue to bed once and for all? (Laughter.)

Okay, Mr. Lambros.

QUESTION: Yes.

MR. ERELI: We have seen the press reports on the letter to the ICAO. We are not aware of such a letter and would refer you to the FAA. So I don't know about any letter to the ICAO.

Okay, now, on the issue of flights, as we've noted, the United States supports the UN Secretary General's recommendation in his report on his Good Offices Mission to Cyprus that members of the Security Council should cooperate both bilaterally and in international bodies to eliminate barriers that have the effect of isolating Turkish Cypriots and impeding their developments. Our goal is to help ease their isolation.

In coordination with the European Union, we are examining our policies, including in aviation, in line with this goal. And that's as much as -- that is the official State Department position on this issue.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) the European Union to end the isolation, even the aviation?

MR. ERELI: Including in aviation --

QUESTION: Aviation?

MR. ERELI: Not -- aviation.

QUESTION: Yes, including the aviation. So that means you are moving all the way forward to --

MR. ERELI: No, it means we are looking at ways to ease the isolation, including in the area of aviation, but it does not say we are opening airports --

QUESTION: Or recognizing illegal --

MR. ERELI: Yes, exactly.

QUESTION: Adam --

QUESTION: But do you know exactly how you are going to do this?

MR. ERELI: No, I don't. We haven't decided.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:15 p.m.)

(end transcript)

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

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