Background Briefing By Senior State Department Official On Secretary

[Torgomian Varazdat]

BACKGROUND BRIEFING BY SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ON SECRETARY CLINTON'S UPCOMING TRIP TO EUROPE

Washington, DC
http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/2009/130414.h tm
October 8, 2009

QUESTION: Have the Swiss actually made an announcement that this
thing is going to happen?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: This --

QUESTION: Or the Turks or the Armenian - I mean, it might have happened
in the last couple hours, but it hadn't happened yet.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No, the Swiss have not announced
it. They've organized it. They've invited the parties. The parties have
all agreed to come. The Turks have announced it and spoken publicly
about it, as you know, and they did so a while ago. But the Swiss
have not, and it's my understanding, don't plan to make a formal
announcement. But they have invited the parties, and the parties,
including Secretary Clinton, have agreed to come.

QUESTION: Okay. So it's on, a hundred percent?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It's on.

QUESTION: Will they actually sign the agreements?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: That's what they will do at the
signing, yeah.

QUESTION: You're sure about that?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I am confident --

QUESTION: I mean, there isn't going to be some last-minute pitch?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I am confident - yes, the parties
have agreed to attend the signing.

QUESTION: Okay.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: And at that signing, they will sign
the two protocols that they had agreed to previously.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: And what would you say was the key to reaching that
decision? The two parties, the two parties coming together?

SENIOR STATE est in doing so. I think both governments - we discussed
before that it's difficult. There's opposition both in Turkey and in
Armenia to doing so. But both governments realize that ultimately, it's
in their interest to have normalized relations and an open border. And
after years of tensions and the economic isolation, particularly of
Armenia, I think there's a great desire on both sides to move forward.

And they previously agreed to - remember the statement of April
22nd when they first announced that they had reached agreements
in principle on these things, they had spent the intervening period
consulting internally. And on August 31st, you'll remember they issued
a statement saying they're going to take six weeks - that was in the
initial agreement - six weeks of domestic political consultations,
after which they would sign and submit to parliaments.

Well, now we're at the end of that six-week period from August
31st. And on the 10th in Zurich, that's what they're going to
do. They're going to sign and then they're going to submit it to
parliaments.

QUESTION: And the two are in diplomatic relations on the border,
or is that just --

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Protocol normalization of relations
and protocol on establishing diplomatic ties.

QUESTION: Can you explain why the Secretary is actually attending an
event that she doesn't have that much to do with? I mean, bringing
them that close together, why do that?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Because, as I think I alluded to,
we have long supported this process, and she's going to demonstrate
and underscore our support for the process. We have encouraged
the parties to move forward and been in constant touch with them,
because it is our profound belief that this is a historic opportunity
for both countries. So she is going to demonstrate that support,
to stand with them and show that we support it, consult with them on
next steps forward.

And I should add that she is not the only international dignitary
invited d, the French foreign minister invited and plans to attend, and
the EU Foreign Policy Chief Solana, and Council of Europe presidency,
which is the Slovenian presidency, Foreign Minister Zbogar. So those
will be the parties in addition to the Turks and the Armenians who
will attend the ceremony demonstrating our collective support for
this normalization process.

QUESTION: Is she going to talk about anything that she's done
personally? I know she met with him on the sidelines of the UN,
but has she made any calls or just (inaudible)?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: She's made lots of calls to Turkey
and to Armenia, to the foreign ministers, to the presidents, and has
been consistently engaged on the issue to try to help our friends
move forward. And she's met - in addition to the phone calls, she's
met a number of times with the foreign ministers and leaders of both
countries, starting at the very beginning of the Administration.

QUESTION: This might be tangential, but with the Russian, French,
and EU there, will she pull them aside for an Iran talk, given that
they're about to meet the technical experts right after that?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: She'll certainly have an opportunity
to engage with them. There aren't going to be formal Iran talks with
them, but of course, it will be a useful opportunity to talk about
the issues of the day, including Iran.

QUESTION: Just to clarify, so these protocols start the process of
normalization?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, once they're ratified, they
would complete the process of normalization. When - upon ratification,
the two countries would have normal ties and diplomatic relations.

QUESTION: No, the signing, I mean. So there's going to be a period
now of some time? And so just - the phrasing of what's actually -
what actually it means?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Right. Well, as in our system,
they'll be signed and then submitted to parliaments. Parliaments would
have to vote and pass them, but upon passag they would then take place,
which would mean that the two countries would have diplomatic relations
and a normal relationship.

QUESTION: So they're moving forward towards normalization if the
events --

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah. As with any such agreement,
first the governments have to agree and then they have to sign it
and then the parliaments have to agree.

QUESTION: No, but --

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: So yeah, it's a step - nobody is
saying this is the final stage in the normalization of relations. There
is more work to do.

QUESTION: The governments agreed to - well, on Monday or Saturday,
will have agreed to normalize ties? That's --

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: That's right. When they sign the
protocols, the governments will have agreed to do so.

QUESTION: Right.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: But in democracies --

QUESTION: Right.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: -- that won't exist until the
parliaments have ratified, and that's obviously going to be important.

QUESTION: Moving to a different topic, can you give us a flavor of to
what extent the START treaty will be a topic of discussion in Moscow,
and will this be helping progress on that? What role will she play
in that?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It will certainly be an important
topic of discussion. Again, as you know, the presidents - well, back
in April when President Obama and President Medvedev met, they tasked
their negotiators to pursue this follow-on treaty on reducing offensive
nuclear weapons. And everyone knew at the time that START expires on
December 5th of this year, and so the deadline was sort of obvious.

The negotiators have been working diligently to move the process
ahead, but we will be - or we are two months from that deadline. So
this will be an opportunity for the Secretary with her counterpart
in Moscow to review where we are on START and discuss some of the
remaining issues to try to meet that deadline, which both sides are
committed to meeting, but it's ult; there's a lot of work that has
to be done in a short amount of time.

QUESTION: So where are we right now?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We're making good progress. And as I
say, I think both sides are committed to getting it done. But just as
a technical matter, there's - there are a lot of details that have to
be sorted out for the follow-on treaty to be finished by December 5th.

QUESTION: Do you think you will get it done by December 5th?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We are hopeful about getting it
done. I don't think anyone would make predictions on something that's
difficult to do. But I think both sides are determined to succeed.

QUESTION: Just to get a little concrete, what kind of sticking points
are there, whether they're technical or more political?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It's always a combination of both. I
mean, you saw in the framework agreed by the presidents at the summit
in July that they gave - each side gave a range on delivery vehicles
and on warheads. So that's one thing that has to be finalized is at
which side of each range are you going to end up, and that's what a
negotiation is, and that's political and technical. And then you have
details on how the verification mechanisms will work and issues like
that. But at a minimum, we have to agree on ranges for warheads and
delivery vehicles.

QUESTION: I'm sorry --

QUESTION: Does the Secretary bring --

QUESTION: Sorry.

QUESTION: Are you picking --

MR. KELLY: I can do that. Mary Beth, go ahead.

QUESTION: Mary Beth Sheridan from The Washington Post. We haven't
met. Is there some component of the meetings in Moscow that involve
missile defense talks? There seems to have been some mention of that
in some stories I've read.

QUESTION: Actually, that was my question, too. And whether the
Secretary is bringing any new proposals about Russian participation
in the ABM architecture, new architecture?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Okay. Well, I'll just sort of answer
both of those at o set up for missile defense talks, but I'm sure
that she will discuss this with her counterparts. It's an important
issue. This will be the first time she's seen Foreign Minister Lavrov
since we announced our approach on missile defense, and I'm sure that
they will have the opportunity to talk about it.

QUESTION: No, they met in New York.

QUESTION: Well, they saw each other at the UN.

QUESTION: New York.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Okay.

QUESTION: Well, didn't they? I mean --

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Is the - I mean, the presidents
met and the foreign ministers were there. But this is a chance to
talk about all of the issues, and missile defense will no doubt come
up. Under Secretary Tauscher will, prior to the Secretary's arrival, be
meeting her counterparts, and again, that will also be an opportunity
to discuss this issue.

QUESTION: In Moscow?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah. We have long said that
we're interested in cooperating with Russia on missile defense and
have talked about the types of things that might be possible and
have waited for Russian reactions and still are waiting, and we are
interested. So we'll see if they have anything new to say about how
they think we might be able to work together on missile defense.

QUESTION: So - I'm sorry, just to clarify, because my understanding
before had been that there was discussion about this radar and sharing
- some kind of use of it or whatever. That doesn't seem to be part of
the new U.S. plan in terms of the sort of more short and medium-range
missile threat and everything else. So, I mean, there's obviously
part of START that's going to mention missile defense somehow, so
they have to work that out, right?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Not really. I mean, START is about
reducing offensive weapons. The Russians always want to talk about
defensive weapons as part of it, but that's not our view.

QUESTION: Yeah. Right. But there's going to be some mention of it in
There's - in most arms control treaties, and probably this one as well,
there will be a reference.

QUESTION: Right.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: The framework that the President
signed in July had one sentence talking about the negotiators will take
into account the relationship between offensive and defensive weapons.

QUESTION: Yeah.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: That's in SALT, that's in START,
and it's in the framework for this treaty as well.

QUESTION: Yeah. That's what I meant.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: But that's all.

QUESTION: Yeah, okay.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Okay.

QUESTION: So if the radar plan is not really on the table anymore,
what - sort of what options might, or what - you know, what's the
thought about what they might do together?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It's not off the table either. In the
plan that we presented, that the President decided and we announced,
there is no reference to specific Russian cooperation because it's
not part of the plan. We have a plan that doesn't require it. But
we have always said, before this and now, that we look forward to
speaking to the Russians about how they might be involved. We think
they face missile threats as we do, and there are various ways we
can cooperate on that. So it's not part of the plan, but it's not
off the table either.

QUESTION: Can I just clarify, because General Cartwright has said
that they would like to put a radar site in the Caucuses and that
would involve, obviously, dealing with the Russians on that. Is that
not still on -

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It wouldn't necessarily --

QUESTION: Not necessarily for Armenia. (Laughter.)

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It wouldn't necessarily --

QUESTION: I guess there are other Caucasus countries that --

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah. That's not a reference
to Russia.

QUESTION: Okay. Because there - obviously, in the previous
administration, there were talks about using Russian sites â "

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Right.

QUESTION: So it could be Russian sites, it could be other; it's not
necessarily Russia?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Right.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: But would it be correct to assume that that's - this is not -
that's not a big focus of what the Secretary is going to be doing?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: That would be correct to assume. With
an agenda that includes START and the bilateral presidential commission
and Iran and Afghanistan and European security, there's plenty to
talk about. I mean, this is not a missile defense trip, but it's
an important issue. Our desire to cooperate remains on the table,
and it'll probably come up.

QUESTION: Is the Secretary planning to meet any civil society leaders
or go to Novaya Gazeta or Ekho Moskvy or to any other media entities
in Russia?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah, she is a doing a meeting with
civil society leaders.

QUESTION: Can you specify more about that - what leaders, who is
going to participate?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I can get back to you with that
because I don't have the list in front of me. But she's going to do
a session with various civil society and human rights groups.

QUESTION: Is she going to give an interview to the Russian media
while she's in Moscow?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I'm not sure. I don't have the
details on that. We can get back to you.

QUESTION: With the issue of democracy, I wonder how she handles it
in Kazan as well, because it's not exactly a bastion of democracy,
although religious freedom (inaudible).

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah. Well, what I can tell you is
that she'll talk about all of those things. You saw her statement
yesterday, right, on the killings and lack of accountability. And
she feels very strongly about that and she will raise it in person,
and she will talk about issues of democracy and human rights, which
remain very important to us.

QUESTION: Both in Moscow and in Kazan?

SENIO

QUESTION: Back to Iran - I mean, that's obviously on the agenda. The
technical experts are meeting, obviously, so is there any hope that
they made progress, or noises from the Russian that they were more
in line with the British, French, and the U.S. on the way forward in
Iran? Is that hopeful?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yes. I mean, that is going to -
it'll be very high on the agenda, I mean - as it was in New York -
I mean, of the P-5+1, and then since then, we had Geneva. And you saw
Medvedev's comments about sanctions in Iran in New York, and we want
to follow up on that, and of course, the Geneva announcement about
taking LEU out of Iran and to be turned into fuel in Russia. These
are all things that we want to follow up on in Moscow, and that's
one of the reasons she's going.

QUESTION: I mean, are you hoping that there is a specific declaration
by the Russians that they're willing to go along on any of those
points? Or is it -

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I don't know that we're looking for
any specific new commitments that we hope to make this week. But yes,
we're looking to move that cooperation forward, because Russia plays
a key role in what we're trying to do together on Iran. And it's -
again, I expect that to be very high on the agenda.

QUESTION: On other baskets of issues, what about Georgia? Where is
that? Is that also high, medium high?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: The Secretary will raise Georgia. I
mean, the President has made clear from the start that the better
relationship we want with Russia does not mean that we don't talk
about things that we disagree on. And that's what he did in Moscow
in July, and that's what she's going to do this time.

We will talk about all of the things that we're cooperating on and hope
to cooperate on - Afghan lethal transit, arms control, Afghanistan,
and so on, Iran. But we'll also talk about things we disagree on,
which can include views of democracy and human rights. Certainly,
we disagree NATO enlargement, and that's the relationship that we
have. And our view is that we can pursue the better, more constructive
relationship without sacrificing our principles or our friends,
and that's what she's going to do.

QUESTION: But what more can she say about Georgia other than the
report that came out recently? I mean, what specifically would she
want to say about Georgia?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, she will reiterate our view
in support of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and
encourage the Russians to fully implement the ceasefires of August and
September 2008, which we don't believe that they have done. And to do
so, to insist that this remain on the table, we don't consider Georgia
satisfactorily settled right now. It's still a problem and an issue,
and we want to see international independent observers throughout
Georgia. We want to see humanitarian groups have access to Abkhazia
and South Ossetia. And we don't accept Russia's recognition of those
breakaway entities. So we want to keep this on the international
agenda because the status quo is not a good or healthy one.

QUESTION: And how would you characterize the transatlantic relations
at this point? They are (inaudible)?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No, I think they're actually very
good. I think - I mean, there are always difficult issues that we're
constantly grappling with. But if you think about the big issues
of the day - Iran, Afghanistan, climate change, the international
economy - I think you've seen a pretty solid degree of transatlantic
cooperation. The leaders meet and talk regularly. And in the face of
very difficult problems, I think we're very pleased with the degree of
transatlantic convergence. We sometimes wish that were a sufficient
condition for solving these problems rather than just a necessary
one. But I think the state of transatlantic relations is very good.

QUESTION: On Afghanistan, what's the extent of the cooperation of
the alliance in this new strateg

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, I mean, they're two different
things. First, it's worth underscoring there are more than 35,000
allied troops in Afghanistan. And that, in and of itself, is hugely
important and reflects a very significant degree of transatlantic
cooperation. I mean, it is basically a NATO mission that is providing
security in Afghanistan, including for the vast majority of American
forces that are over there. That's the first point. And that is partly
an answer, according to your first question. That's already a very
positive aspect of transatlantic cooperation. And because of that,
our review of Afghanistan necessarily includes discussions with allies.

At present, the President is reviewing the assessment by General
McChrystal and deciding what is best for the United States and what
we think the best way forward is. But necessarily, this will be
done in cooperation with allies who are playing a major role on the
ground. And again, I am sure that the Secretary in London, and with
Foreign Minister Kouchner on this trip, will talk about our thinking
on the issue.

QUESTION: Speaking of the topic of transatlantic, our colleagues on
the sceptred isle have been writing quite a bit about the nature of
the U.S.-UK relationship. Is there any effort by the Secretary to
reassure the Brits that the special relationship is still special,
or is that not part of what she's going to do there?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I think the very fact of traveling to
London and meeting with the prime minister and the foreign minister
on all of the issues we most care about is a reflection of the
importance of the relationship. And she'll - of course she will
underscore that. Britain remains a close and critically important
ally. We're just talking about Afghanistan where they have 8,000
troops which we're enormously grateful for, and is a reflection of
how closely we cooperate and how important their contributions are.

QUESTION: Why is she spending so much time in Ireland?

SENIOR STAT

QUESTION: No. She should be spending more time. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: She should be going to the Guinness brewery, too. (Laughter.)

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: She is making a visit to Ireland and
Northern Ireland, her first as Secretary of State, because she cares
deeply about the issue, because millions of Americans care deeply
about the issue, because the United States has interests there and
has been an important actor in bringing about a very successful peace
process. So I don't think it's a particularly large amount of time in
the grand scheme of things to take whatever it is, a day and a half or
two, to do what she can to help to continue to move the process along.

QUESTION: Is she a little concerned by the recent events? There's
some violence by fringe groups. There's also justice in courts. They
have to resolve power-sharing issues there.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Sure. Well, indeed, it's because
there are some remaining issues and more work to do that it's important
that she go and try to help. And yes, of course she's concerned when
violence flares up again. I think in the grand scheme of things,
violence is obviously dramatically less than it used to be. But both
of the issues you mentioned are a reminder that this is far from
completely finished business. And that's, again, why she wants to
lend her support to the parties in finishing the job.

QUESTION: Any chance she'll ask for more help in Guantanamo in Ireland?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We have consistently, as you
know, been asking all of our friends across Europe to help more in
Guantanamo. And help, wherever offered, is welcome.

MR. KELLY: Okay.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: Can we stay on Afghanistan? What else have you discussed in
Russia regarding Afghanistan? The lethal flights has been settled. Is
there anything else to be covered?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Sure. I mean, lethal flights is now
underway, and that's a good thing. But there's also - the Russians
could provide mo e to Afghanistan, including in the form of weapons
for the Afghan army, training, counternarcotics. I mean, they have
a major role as well beyond the logistical one, and that's worth
pursuing with them as well.

QUESTION: Thank you.