Excerpts from the Press Briefing July 30, 2003

No, I don't have anything more to say about assistance from neighboring states. To the extent it can be covered, I think we have done that.

In terms of the situation, the status of the situation, both on the ground and our discussions, let me sort of do the bigger picture for you there. There are conflicting reports, frankly, about how much fighting is going on. There was apparently a point earlier today when fighting had stopped. There are now press reports that indicate some heavy fighting may have started again.

We understood earlier today that negotiations were continuing on a potential ceasefire. And, certainly, we have been pressing very hard on all of the parties to reach a ceasefire. We have been doing this through our diplomats in Accra, where all of the parties are for the ceasefire talks, in Monrovia itself with the government, and in Conakry.

As you know, Assistant Secretary Kansteiner has just been there pressing all of the parties to halt the fighting and allow humanitarian assistance to go back into the country and help the people of Liberia. Assistant Secretary of State Walter Kansteiner is now leaving Guinea. He is on his way to Accra where he'll meet with the parties there.

And the Economic Community of West African States are scheduled to hold a heads of state summit there tomorrow to talk about next steps in dealing with the situation. And so Assistant Secretary Kansteiner is headed that way to meet with them, and we have other people on the ground, including military representatives, who are working with the West Africans there.

We have been in touch with the Movement for Democracy in Liberia. We have urged them in the strongest terms to cease their advance. The continued advance beyond Buchanan would undermine all the efforts being made to deploy an international force, and the efforts to reach a peace agreement. So we have made very clear to them that they are responsible for their actions and we expect them to cease their advance and abide by the ceasefire.

QUESTION: All right. So -- oh, you've got more?

MR. BOUCHER: Just to sum it up, what we're doing is working with all of the West African states to achieve a ceasefire and the deployment of the peacekeepers. I would note as well, though, that we're also tabling today a UN resolution in New York.

The Secretary General, as you know, wrote a letter to the Security Council on July 29th, yesterday. We believe our draft responds to all the issues that he raised in that letter. We have been consulting closely with other Security Council members about an appropriate UN mandate for a multilateral national force in Liberia to support a ceasefire. We have taken those consultations into account and we'll continue to discuss the resolution with them, now that we're introducing a draft.

The draft that we're introducing, the language, as I said, is going to be discussed with other countries. We will be in consultations with them. Basically, what it is intended to do is to authorize the deployment of a Multinational Force under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. It would grant authority for peacekeepers to support a ceasefire and to provide a secure environment for humanitarian deliveries, and it would declare the Council's readiness to move rapidly to establish a follow-on UN stabilization force that could take over.

As I said, I think this draft responds to the issues that the Secretary General raised in his July 29th letter, and we look forward to discussing it further with members of the Council.

QUESTION: On the draft, does that mean that this, that there is -- that this, what you're putting on the -- what you're tabling today, is different than the draft that you had circulating yesterday before the letter?

MR. BOUCHER: There have been modifications made along the way. We think it speaks to the same issues that the Secretary General was talking to -- about in his letter. And but there is text changing all the time because it's a process of consultation.

QUESTION: And has that happened? Have you actually done it now or is it supposed to be --

MR. BOUCHER: I think it was -- it was going to be done in a meeting that was in session as I came out here, so whether they've actually done it inside the room or not, I don't know.

QUESTION: Okay, and then back to the situation on the ground. A couple days ago, you wanted the MODEL, the Movement for Democracy, not to go into Buchanan at all. Have you basically conceded that they've got it, because today you say continued events beyond there would be -- could be bad.

MR. BOUCHER: Well, I think we know that their forces are present there. We have --

QUESTION: You don't want them to leave? That's okay with State?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, eventually, all this needs to be sorted out. The point, I think, at this stage is to stop the fighting, get the ceasefire to stop, to get a permissive environment so that peacekeepers can go in, stabilize the situation, and then resolve the issues through negotiation in Accra.

QUESTION: Specifically on that, what are the consequences, then, if MODEL does not heed your call and does, in fact, advance beyond Buchanan?

MR. BOUCHER: The consequences for the people of the area are obviously difficultly fighting and continued humanitarian problems for the people of Liberia. In terms of the consequences in the discussions and the status of the group, I think that will have to play itself out over time.

QUESTION: You're not being specific.

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not here to issue consequences at this point. There is obviously consequences of these kinds of behaviors when you're in a negotiating situation, when you're trying to look forward to the future.

QUESTION: But you don't want them to leave Buchanan? That's no longer -- now that they've gotten there and taken it, you're dropping your objection to them being there?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't -- we want people to withdraw from territories that they've occupied and to work this out and to get to places and leave the people of Liberia to live in peace. At the same time, the immediate goal is to stop the fighting and provide an environment so that peacekeepers can go in and these issues can be settled peacefully.

Nicholas.

QUESTION: Richard, does the draft refer in any way to the ECOWAS force, and how are these two forces going to relate to each other?

And then second, do you have a date for when actually you'll have a vote or you'll propose a vote on --

MR. BOUCHER: Don't have a date for a vote yet. Clearly, we've done some consulting already. We'll do more consulting in the Council. The Secretary General has written to Council saying what he expects, and I think our draft responds to that. So we would hope that this would move rather quickly.

As far as reference to the ECOWAS force, yes. Yeah, that's the correct answer. I don't remember. We'll have to check and tell you later.

QUESTION: You could give us the draft.

MR. BOUCHER: The correct answer is: I don't remember. We'll get it to you later and make sure.

QUESTION: What would the U.S. component to this UN peacekeeping force be? As you know, Kofi Annan would like the U.S. to take a leading role.

MR. BOUCHER: We're going to support the West African states as they go in --

QUESTION: I'm talking about the UN part of it.

MR. BOUCHER: We're going to support the West African states as they go in. As we've said before, and I think the President said again today, we haven't decided whether we support that with actual military deployments. Certainly, we will have ships offshore. We have provided already $10 million in a contract for logistic support. So there are a variety of kinds of support from the United States. Whether that involves soldiers deployed on the ground, that's a decision the President will have to make at the appropriate time.

QUESTION: So, at this stage, according -- under this draft resolution, there will not be UN -- a U.S. component to --

MR. BOUCHER: The resolution -- it doesn't talk about specific countries. You just asked whether supports refers directly to the West African deployments, which is what it is basically intended to do, and I said I'd have to check the text. But it doesn't refer to any other countries, like the United States, being part or not part of this.

QUESTION: Do you --

QUESTION: (Inaudible.) The resolution does cover an ECOWAS deployment, right?

MR. BOUCHER: Yeah.

QUESTION: To be followed by a UN deployment. It covers them both? It's not a --

MR. BOUCHER: The resolution endorses what is being planned and what is going on, what is being planned by the West African states, what is being discussed with other members of the international community about a follow-on stabilization force. It supports the whole pattern that the Secretary General has talked about, that we have talked about: a vanguard of West African troops, meaning the Nigerians, going in soon, to be followed by a broader West African deployment, and then to be replaced by a more formal UN peacekeeping stabilization force that would be drawn from other countries.

But the language of the resolution itself is general so that it covers all those things. Whether it refers specifically to any of them is something I'll check.

QUESTION: Are there funding problems that are keeping the Nigerians from going in, or is it just the absence of the ceasefire?

MR. BOUCHER: I think it's a process that has been developing. I think you have all tracked it fairly closely with us here, as we have gone from the concept to moving closer and closer to working with them to identify the units, to identify the support, provide the assistance, make sure the transport was there. There have been a series of detailed military meetings this week. There will be another heads of state meeting tomorrow. So it's a process that's been developing. Clearly, the continuation of the fighting creates concerns and complicates that.

So alongside of the movement towards deployment has been an effort to try to get the parties to abide by the ceasefire. So those are two efforts underway. When they will converge, I can't tell you exactly at this point. But we would expect the vanguard of the West African forces to go in fairly soon.

QUESTION: This summit meeting you mentioned, is that an ECOWAS summit, or is it just selective ECOWAS countries?

MR. BOUCHER: It's described as an ECOWAS summit, but I don't know for sure how many will be there. In think, principally, it will be the people involved in the military aspects of this.

Adi.

QUESTION: In this draft, is there specific language delineating increased funding from -- for this force that could go in from American -- from America? You mentioned you had already -- already given $10 million. But is there a language saying that they will give "X" amount more?

MR. BOUCHER: No, you don't do that in UN resolutions. UN resolutions, you provide the framework, you provide the mandate, you provide the goals of the mission, and you ask member states to contribute. And, certainly, the United States will consider -- has considered how it can support this deployment.

We'll be supporting it financially. We're supporting it with logistics and advice and coordination. We will be having, as you know, some shifts in the area, and the President will decide what further support we need to provide.

QUESTION: Both the President and Secretary Powell today again said that Charles Taylor has to leave. Have you been in touch with Charles Taylor? And do you have any new assurances that he does, in fact, plan to do so?

MR. BOUCHER: We are in touch with the Government of Liberia, whether it's -- at what point when we last talked to him directly, I don't know -- but we're certainly in touch with people from his government, people involved with him. We have consistently made clear that they need to abide by the commitment. I don't know when the last time was that they said they would. He said it in public not too many days ago.

QUESTION: Four days ago. But in the last few days?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, again --

QUESTION: He could keep changing his mind, so --

MR. BOUCHER: It's a commitment that he has made, and he has made fairly consistently, that we would expect him to keep.

Tammy.

QUESTION: Does the UN resolution address the issue of Taylor at all, in terms of, is the follow-on force contingent upon his departure?

MR. BOUCHER: There is a point that the details of the resolution need to be discussed with other countries before I start trying to discuss them and describe them here. I have tried to give you the general sense of the thrust of the resolution or what it tries to do, but I am not going to be able to get into all of the aspects of this.

Charlie.

QUESTION: In terms of Taylor leaving, are there discussions underway for others to go with him, others in the government, or others that have supported him? Is that part of the discussions?

MR. BOUCHER: Do you mean others, like beyond family members?

QUESTION: Yes, yes, supporters who might not be desire --

MR. BOUCHER: I guess what I'd say for that is that there are discussions underway in Accra where they -- remember they agreed in the preliminary agreement to have -- form a transitional authority.

And so, as they discussed the comprehensive agreement that they have been working on there, and where the -- I think it's General Abubakar, who has been trying to shepherd those talks along, they have been discussing the transitional arrangements and how those should be constituted, as well as the comprehensive arrangements of how the government should be constituted, how the political transition can go forward. So all those issues get involved with how the government gets organized.

QUESTION: Richard, with respect to the rebel forces, you say that it's in their interest, it's in the interest of the Liberian people, that they not move beyond Monrovia -- I'm sorry -- not Monrovia.

MR. BOUCHER: Buchanan.

QUESTION: Buchanan, thank you. The other American -- but what kind of guarantee, if any, is the U.S. willing to offer these rebels that their voice would be included once there is a ceasefire? I mean, they want to control the country. You're asking them --

MR. BOUCHER: These groups participate in the talks. They have participated in the talks. They have reached agreements in the talks. All we're asking them to do, frankly, is to abide by the commitments they made, and that they themselves have broken.

And, clearly, their behavior at this stage, having made agreements to a ceasefire, and having continued their advance, is going to affect the kind of the role that one would expect them to play in the future. So they are -- they have a voice. They have a role in the negotiations. And that's where we expect them to exercise their voice.

QUESTION: Okay. And I'd also like to just follow on to what George was asking you earlier.

MR. BOUCHER: Yeah.

QUESTION: The Nigerians have signaled that they are concerned about lack of money being there to help to support this vanguard that's going in. Is the U.S. -- or is the U.S. in touch with any governments that might be prepared to offer more money to -- as an incentive to try to allay their concerns?

MR. BOUCHER: As I said, we have provided $10 million already to support the peacekeepers, support the ECOWAS deployments. We are considering -- we have pledged our support for these deployments. We have provided some already. We'll consider what more we need to do as things develop. But we have made an initial contribution certainly, and would expect to provide additional support.

Terri.

QUESTION: Can we talk a little bit more about Kansteiner's talks in Guinea, whether he got satisfactory answers out of them about their borders and what they might do?