*EPF203 11/16/2004
White House Report, November 16: Sudan, Iran, APEC, Oil-for-Food
(White House urges Sudanese leaders to reach comprehensive political settlement) (570)

BUSH PUSHES FOR COMPREHENSIVE SETTLEMENT IN SUDAN

President Bush telephoned Sudanese President Omar Bashir and Sudanese rebel leader John Garang to urge both sides to reach an agreement to resolve the conflict between the northern and southern parts of the country, as well as in the Darfur region.

Speaking at the November 16 White House daily briefing, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the president told Bashir to halt the Janjawid violence against the Sudanese people and to allow more peacekeeping troops from the African Union to arrive in the country.

McClellan said Bush discussed the status of peace negotiations with Garang, who is chairman of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement. According to press reports, negotiations are scheduled to resume November 26, and the press secretary said it is "imperative" that a comprehensive peace agreement is concluded.

"We expect to see renewed commitment to this objective when talks resume. And it's also important that all parties in the region continue to work to end the violence and help the people of Darfur get the humanitarian assistance that they need," McClellan said.

EUROPEAN AGREEMENT WITH IRAN CALLED "A FIRST STEP"

McClellan said the Bush administration continues to support the efforts of France, Germany and the United Kingdom to resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear activities, and described the preliminary agreement in which Iran agreed to suspend all of its uranium activities within one week as "a positive step, but ... only a first step."

"There are other steps that need to be taken to reach our shared objective when it comes to Iran," he said, adding, "The proof of the agreement will be in the implementation."

The press secretary said it is "very clear" what Iran needs to do to satisfy international concerns. Iran needs to fully comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency, including ratifying and adhering to the organization's additional protocol, he said, and it needs to suspend all of its enrichment-related and reprocessing equipment. "We've been very clear in that regard," McClellan said.

BUSH PLANS TO FOCUS ON SECURITY, TRADE ISSUES AT APEC SUMMIT

President Bush will place a priority upon security and trade when he attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Chile November 20-21.

Press Secretary McClellan said security is necessary component of moving forward economically.

McClellan said the president hopes to build upon nonproliferation, anti-terror and other security initiatives that were discussed at the previous APEC summit, held October 2003 in Bangkok.

WHITE HOUSE ENCOURAGES U.N. COOPERATION IN OIL-FOR-FOOD PROBE

McClellan encouraged the leadership of the United Nations "to do everything they can to cooperate" with the U.S. congressional investigation into alleged abuses of the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program.

The White House "looks forward to seeing the results" of the U.N.'s investigation, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, he said, adding that the Senate's Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations also has "a role to play" in looking into the issue.

"We continue to encourage [the United Nations] to cooperate with the congressional investigation into the matter as well. We look forward to seeing the results of their investigation, too. This is a serious matter," McClelland said.

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

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents