Press Conference at NATO HeadquartersRichard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of StateBrussels, Belgium March 26, 2002 AMBASSADOR R. NICHOLAS BURNS: Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to welcome back to NATO the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Thank you Nick. Good afternoon. I have the great pleasure of coming from Bucharest to Brussels. I am delighted to be back here. I was last here on September 20th, right after the fantastic Article 5 decision, declaration by our NATO Allies. I have several purposes for coming here, first of all I want discuss again the absolute vital nature of the NATO Alliance to the United States and I think to freedom in the world. The fact that 16 of our Allies are with us on the ground in Afghanistan I think speaks volumes to that. Second, I wanted to discuss the Bucharest Summit, the Spring of New Allies from which I have just returned. And make the point to our friends here that the United States supports the most robust possible enlargement at the Prague Summit in November. Next, I was able to brief about Vice President Cheney's recently completed trip through the Middle East. And finally, I had a discussion in the NAC on Iraq, and Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. So I will be glad to take a question or two, and then I am going to greet the Mission and then fly back to the United States so please… QUESTION: What was your message on Iraq and Iraq's weapons of mass destruction? DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well obviously this was a classified briefing that I gave. But, in general, it was a discussion of the activities of Iraq and the Iraqi regime to regain weapons of mass destruction in the absence of the inspectors for the last almost four years. QUESTION: What could be the role, NATO's role, in an operation against Iraq? DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: We had no discussion of such a thing. It's a hypothetical and I don’t think I will take the question. QUESTION: In the fight against terrorism, what more do you think NATO could do in this fight against terrorism in the coming years or months? DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well I think this is an ongoing and developing situation. And as situations present themselves, I’m sure we would make any requests of NATO as they popped up. Thus far, NATO has been fantastic in everything from intelligence sharing, though overflights to, as I mentioned, actual activities on the ground. I was able to express to our colleagues here my sorrow that several of us -- the U.S., the U.K., Denmark, Germany have actually lost service members in this battle -- and even in that loss is something that ties us more closely together. QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the meeting in Bucharest, and do you think that the nine candidates are ready to be invited at the Prague Summit? DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well that's two questions. So the first part of that -- I am very satisfied with the Summit in Bucharest from several different angles. I was thrilled that the Polish President and the Czech Prime Minister came. They didn’t just get into NATO and then close the door behind them. They were there to encourage new Allies, and I thought that was a very noteworthy thing as was the visit of Prime Minister Ecevit of Turkey. On the question of nine new aspirants -- I noted that Lord Robertson was present by television, via television in Bucharest, and he said there is one thing for sure: there will be between one and nine aspirants in NATO this fall. Our point is that we want the most robust enlargement possible. That means that aspirant countries have to not only continue to reach their MAP goals but to be able to, I think, show to everyone sitting around that table today that their intention is to continue with reform long after they may have gained entry into NATO. I thank you very much. Good afternoon.
Released on March 27, 2002 |
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